Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainJobs, pay and the trip to work in Oklee
Only 7% work in Oklee itself; outside it, Thief River Falls draws the most (33%, 24 miles). 2% of workers work from home, against 18% across Minnesota. The average commute takes 30 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Oklee fills up on a workday
On a workday 160 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 200 people come in from elsewhere.
About 460 people are in Oklee on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 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 Oklee goes to work
Where Oklee clocks in
3% 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 Oklee, services account for most jobs
212 jobs are based in Oklee.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oklee, 2013 → 2023: 158 → 212. 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 Oklee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 30 minutes from Oklee
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oklee workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 192 commuters (the 2% 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 Oklee’s workers travel
About 22% 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.
Next door to Oklee
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oklee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklee | – | — | — | 30 min | $62,188 |
| Lambert Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lambert Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oklee’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 Oklee: questions
What is the median household income in Oklee?
$62,188 (±$25,163) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oklee?
15.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oklee?
30 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oklee work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Thief River Falls (33%, 24 mi), Red Lake Falls (7%, 20 mi), Crookston (3%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Oklee 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 Oklee, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oklee
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.