Photo: Crown Star Images · CC BY 2.0Earning a living in Odessa
The trip to work takes 41 minutes on average (Minnesota 23, U.S. 26). Only 2% work in Odessa; the top destination outside it is Ortonville (20%, 6 miles). Employers in Odessa report 76 jobs, and 45 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Odessa
On a workday 44 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 75 people come in from elsewhere.
About 130 people are in Odessa on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 Odessa, and from where
Where Odessa clocks in
20% 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.
In Odessa, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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 Odessa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Odessa: about 41 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Odessa workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 42 commuters (the 14% 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 Odessa
About 20% 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.
Odessa and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Odessa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odessa | – | — | — | 41 min | $46,250 |
| Odessa Township | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Agassiz Township | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Odessa Township and Agassiz Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Odessa’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 Odessa: questions
What is the median household income in Odessa?
$46,250 (±$26,968) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Odessa?
20.7%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Odessa?
41 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Odessa work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ortonville (20%, 6 mi), Clinton (9%, 15 mi), Graceville (7%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Odessa 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 Odessa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Odessa
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.