How Sanford Township works: jobs, income and commuting
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole. Hardly any stay in Sanford Township for work; outside it, Elbow Lake is the main destination (19%, 2 miles). The average commute takes 24 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
Who commutes out of Sanford Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 47 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 39 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 (0.83 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 Sanford Township goes to work
Where Sanford Township clocks in
19% of workers
19% of workers
11% 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 Sanford Township, 28% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
39 jobs are based in Sanford Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sanford Township, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 39. 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 Sanford Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Sanford Township: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sanford Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 67 commuters (the 4% 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.
Miles to work from Sanford Township
About 21% 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 Sanford Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sanford Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Township | – | — | — | 24 min | $67,083 |
| Lien Township | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Erdahl Township | 4% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Elbow Lake Township | under 3% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Pomme de Terre Township | under 3% | — | — | 17 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lien Township, Erdahl Township, Elbow Lake Township and Pomme de Terre Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Erdahl Township. Darker towns draw more of Sanford 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 Sanford Township: questions
What is the median household income in Sanford Township?
$67,083 (±$29,637) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sanford Township?
12.0%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sanford Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sanford Township work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elbow Lake (19%, 2 mi), Fergus Falls (19%, 22 mi), Ashby (11%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Sanford Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sanford Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sanford 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.