Photo: Own work · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Otter Tail Township works elsewhere
51 jobs are based in Otter Tail Township, against 265 working residents. Only 1% work in Otter Tail Township; the top destination outside it is Perham (20%, 13 miles). Commuters spend 29 minutes getting to work on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Otter Tail Township, in brief
Otter Tail Township is a place people come home to
There are 51 jobs based in Otter Tail Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Otter Tail Township has about 390 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Otter Tail Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 265 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
In and out of Otter Tail Township on a workday
On a workday 262 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere.
About 390 people are in Otter Tail Township on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer 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.
Getting to work from Otter Tail Township takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Otter Tail Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 183 commuters (the 16% 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.
Commuting out of Otter Tail Township: the destinations
Where Otter Tail Township clocks in
20% of workers
11% of workers
9% 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.
Otter Tail Township is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Otter Tail Township, 2013 → 2023: 45 → 51. 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 Otter Tail Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Otter Tail Township’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Otter Tail Township and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Ottertail (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Otter Tail Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter Tail Township | – | — | — | 29 min | $100,179 |
| Ottertail | 9% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Rush Lake Township | under 2% | C | C+ | 20 min | $75,000 |
| Girard Township | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Amor Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Leaf Lake Township | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ottertail, Girard Township, Amor Township and Leaf Lake Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Otter Tail Township’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 Otter Tail Township: questions
What is the median household income in Otter Tail Township?
$100,179 (±$15,975) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Otter Tail Township?
3.8%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Otter Tail Township?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Otter Tail Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Perham (20%, 13 mi), Fergus Falls (11%, 24 mi), Ottertail (9%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Otter Tail Township 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 Otter Tail Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Otter Tail Township
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.