For about half of its working residents, La Prairie is a commute to Grand Rapids
5% of workers work from home (Minnesota 18%). Only 2% stay in La Prairie for work; outside it, Grand Rapids is the main destination (46%, 2 miles). Working residents average 15 minutes each way, next to 23 for Minnesota and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in La Prairie
Most La Prairie residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in La Prairie than ten years ago
Jobs counted in La Prairie fell from 530 in 2013 to 299 in 2023, −44%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 249 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How many miles La Prairie commutes
About 26% 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.
67% of the jobs in La Prairie pay over $3,333 a month
299 jobs are based in La Prairie.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Prairie, 2013 → 2023: 530 → 299. 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 La Prairie’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of La Prairie
On a workday 243 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 293 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 (1.20 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.
Where the trip to work from La Prairie ends
Where La Prairie clocks in
46% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
From La Prairie, about 15 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Prairie workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 211 commuters (the 5% 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.
Work next door: 50% of La Prairie’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Prairie workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Prairie | – | — | — | 15 min | $69,375 |
| Coleraine | 4% | C+ | B− | 19 min | $74,716 |
| Grand Rapids | 46% | C− | A | 15 min | $61,029 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Grand Rapids. Darker towns draw more of La Prairie’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 La Prairie: questions
What is the median household income in La Prairie?
$69,375 (±$12,826) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Prairie?
6.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Prairie?
15 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Prairie work?
2% work in town.
Can you get around La Prairie without a car?
0% 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 La Prairie, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Prairie
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.