Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Pine River has 2.1 jobs for every working resident: 691 people commute in to work
8% of workers work from home; Minnesota has 18%. Pine River has 729 jobs, against 341 working residents. About one in ten work in Pine River; the top destination outside it is Brainerd (8%, 27 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Pine River and work: the main findings
Pine River is where the jobs are
Pine River has 729 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 1,300 people are in town, 43% more than the 910 who live here. Day and night ↓
Pine River’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Pine River is Brainerd, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (26) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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 341 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Pine River fills up on a workday
On a workday 303 residents head out to work and 38 work right here.
About 1,300 people are in Pine River on a workday afternoon, 43% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Pine River
About 27% 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.
The daily trip into Pine River
Where Pine River clocks in
8% 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.
The kinds of work in Pine River
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pine River, 2013 → 2023: 885 → 729. 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 Pine River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes each way for Pine River’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pine River workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 327 commuters (the 8% 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.
Work in the towns next to Pine River
The biggest share goes to Wilson Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pine River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine River | – | — | — | 20 min | $43,080 |
| Barclay Township | under 3% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Wilson Township | 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Pine River Township | under 3% | D | C+ | 21 min | $58,056 |
| Walden Township | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Chickamaw Beach | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Barclay Township, Wilson Township, Walden Township and Chickamaw Beach: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pine River’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 Pine River: questions
What is the median household income in Pine River?
$43,080 (±$3,516) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pine River?
29.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pine River?
20 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pine River work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brainerd (8%, 27 mi), Pequot Lakes (7%, 11 mi), Baxter (6%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Pine River without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pine River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pine River
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.