Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Kerkhoven
About one in ten stay in Kerkhoven for work; outside it, Willmar is the main destination (19%, 14 miles). 9% of workers have no commute at all, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole. Commuters spend 25 minutes getting to work on average; Minnesota averages 23, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Kerkhoven: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 289 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 219 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 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.
Out of Kerkhoven to work: where people go
Where Kerkhoven clocks in
19% of workers
10% of workers
7% of workersLines 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.
What work there is in Kerkhoven: 246 jobs
246 jobs are based in Kerkhoven.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kerkhoven, 2013 → 2023: 149 → 246. 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 Kerkhoven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Kerkhoven spends getting to work: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kerkhoven workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 327 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Kerkhoven
About 24% 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.
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.
Jobs and commuting in Kerkhoven: questions
What is the median household income in Kerkhoven?
$72,813 (±$20,556) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kerkhoven?
5.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kerkhoven?
25 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kerkhoven work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Willmar (19%, 14 mi), Benson (10%, 16 mi), Murdock (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Kerkhoven without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kerkhoven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kerkhoven
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.