Photo: Own work · CC BY-SA 3.0Ottertail has 2.2 jobs for every working resident: 561 people commute in to work
Employers in Ottertail report 582 jobs for 260 working residents. About one in ten stay in Ottertail for work; outside it, Perham is the main destination (17%, 12 miles). Working residents average 29 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
Work in Ottertail, in a few figures
Ottertail is where the jobs are
Ottertail has 582 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 1,100 people are in town, 44% more than the 730 who live here. Day and night ↓
Ottertail’s workforce skews older
43% of Ottertail’s working residents are 55 or older. That’s about two in five. The jobs ↓
Ottertail has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Ottertail went from 366 in 2013 to 582 in 2023, +59%. 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 260 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The daily flow of workers through Ottertail
On a workday 239 residents head out to work and 21 work right here.
About 1,100 people are in Ottertail on a workday afternoon, 44% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Ottertail
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ottertail, 2013 → 2023: 366 → 582. 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 Ottertail’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who travels to work in Ottertail, and from where
Where Ottertail clocks in
17% 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.
Getting to work from Ottertail takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ottertail workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 182 commuters (the 19% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Ottertail
About 16% 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.
How Ottertail compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ottertail workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottertail | – | — | — | 29 min | $80,500 |
| Otter Tail Township | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Leaf Lake Township | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Otter Tail 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 Ottertail’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 Ottertail: questions
What is the median household income in Ottertail?
$80,500 (±$21,167) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ottertail?
8.6%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ottertail?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ottertail work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Perham (17%, 12 mi), Fergus Falls (11%, 26 mi), Wadena (10%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ottertail without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ottertail, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ottertail
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.