Earning a living in Porter
9% of workers work from home (Minnesota 18%). Hardly any stay in Porter for work; outside it, Marshall is the main destination (26%, 23 miles). Working residents average 37 minutes each way; Minnesota averages 23, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who works in Porter, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 81 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 89 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.10 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.
Commuting out of Porter: the destinations
Where Porter clocks in
26% 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.
Making and building: 53% of jobs based in Porter
89 jobs are based in Porter.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Porter, 2013 → 2023: 66 → 89. 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 Porter’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Porter takes about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Porter workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 97 commuters (the 9% 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 it is to work from Porter
About 23% 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 Porter compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Porter workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porter | – | — | — | 37 min | $56,667 |
| Wergeland Township | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Alta Vista Township | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wergeland Township and Alta Vista Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Porter’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 Porter: questions
What is the median household income in Porter?
$56,667 (±$18,968) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Porter?
10.5%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Porter?
37 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Porter work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marshall (26%, 23 mi), Canby (11%, 7 mi), Montevideo (7%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Porter without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Porter, from the people who make the trip.
More of Porter
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.