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Jobs & commute in Kensington

About two in five of Kensington’s working residents commute to Alexandria

Only 4% stay in Kensington for work; outside it, Alexandria is the main destination (43%, 17 miles). Working from home is the commute for 9% of workers, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole. The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average, where Minnesota has 23 and the U.S. 26.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The workday shuffle in and out of Kensington

On a workday 132 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 172 people come in from elsewhere.

132live here, work elsewhere
5live and work here
172work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night270
Workday310
270live here− 130head out to work+ 170come in to work= 310on a workday

About 310 people are in Kensington on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
1.29jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 per resident).

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Where Kensington’s working residents head each day

KensingtonBrandon: 7 residents work here (5%)Evansville: 3 residents work here (2%)Elbow Lake: 3 residents work here (2%)Morris: 3 residents work here (2%)GlenwoodFergus Falls: 5 residents work here (4%)Alexandria: 59 residents work here (43%)Minneapolis: 2 residents work here (1%)Holmes City Township: 2 residents work here (1%)La Grand TownshipSolem Township: 3 residents work here (2%)Moe TownshipBrandon TownshipCarlos TownshipAlexandriaBrandonFergus FallsEvansvilleElbow LakeMorrisKensington
1
Alexandria16.9 mi away
43%59
2
Brandon13.9 mi away
5%7
3
Kensington (in town)right here
4%5
4
Fergus Falls39.5 mi away
4%5
5
Evansville15.7 mi away
2%3
6
Elbow Lake19.9 mi away
2%3
7
Morris16.7 mi away
2%3
8
Solem Township2.4 mi away
2%3
9
Minneapolis130.6 mi away
1%2
101%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
33%45
The top trips

Where Kensington clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

The jobs

Making and building: 45% of jobs based in Kensington

177 jobs are based in Kensington.

Jobs based in KensingtonJobs Kensington residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms45%27%
Trade, transport & utilities18%18%
Services: health, schools, offices37%55%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less9%20%
$1,251–$3,333 a month31%22%
Over $3,333 a month60%58%

Who does it

29 or younger23%26%
30 to 5458%47%
55 and older19%27%
+65%

Jobs based in Kensington, 2013 → 2023: 107 → 177. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kensington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Each way, about 26 minutes from Kensington

A year of commuting
196 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Kensington26 min
Minnesota23 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
9%

of Kensington workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Kensington gets to work
81%Drive alone
7%Carpool
4%Transit
4%Walk
4%Other

Share of the 127 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Minnesota: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

How far

The distance from Kensington to work

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miAlexandria: 43% · 16.9 miBrandon: 5% · 13.9 miFergus Falls: 4% · 39.5 miEvansville: 2% · 15.7 miElbow Lake: 2% · 19.9 miMorris: 2% · 16.7 miSolem Township: 2% · 2.4 miMinneapolis: 1% · 130.6 miHolmes City Township: 1% · 7.2 miAlexandria 43%Brandon 5%Fergus Falls 4%Evansville 2%Elbow Lake 2%Kensington
KensingtonTop destinations (size = commuters)
12%Under 10 mi16 residents
64%10–24 mi88 residents
7%25–50 mi9 residents
18%Over 50 mi24 residents

About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
  • Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Kensington: questions

What is the median household income in Kensington?

$46,000 (±$9,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Kensington?

16.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Kensington?

26 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Kensington work?

4% work in town.

Can you get around Kensington without a car?

4% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Kensington, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Kensington

Kensington home →

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.