Laporte draws 136 commuters a day, with 2.2 jobs for every working resident
Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. Employers in Laporte report 138 jobs, against 62 working residents. Only 3% work in Laporte itself; outside it, Bemidji draws the most (19%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Laporte
On a workday 60 residents head out to work and 2 work right here.
About 220 people are in Laporte on a workday afternoon, 51% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in Laporte, and from where
Where Laporte clocks in
19% of workers
11% of workers
10% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Laporte
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Laporte, 2013 → 2023: 104 → 138. 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 Laporte’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 22 minutes in Laporte
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Laporte workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 30 commuters (the 12% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Laporte
About 15% 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 Laporte: questions
What is the median household income in Laporte?
$44,375 (±$37,842) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Laporte?
35.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Laporte?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Laporte work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bemidji (19%, 20 mi), Walker (11%, 12 mi), Park Rapids (10%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Laporte without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 42% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Laporte, from the people who make the trip.
More of Laporte
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.