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Jobs & commute in Soudan

Soudan has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each

Only 2% work in Soudan; the top destination outside it is Tower (18%, 2 miles). Employers in Soudan report 6 jobs, against 120 working residents. Working from home is the commute for 8% of workers (Minnesota 18%).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Soudan by day and by night

On a workday 118 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 4 people come in from elsewhere.

118live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
4work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night420
Workday300
420live here− 120head out to work+ 4come in to work= 300on a workday

About 300 people are in Soudan on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.05jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Where people from Soudan work

Ely: 7 residents work here (6%)Tower: 22 residents work here (18%)Biwabik: 3 residents work here (3%)Virginia: 14 residents work here (12%)Mountain Iron: 6 residents work here (5%)Duluth: 9 residents work here (8%)Hibbing: 3 residents work here (3%)Babbitt: 3 residents work here (3%)St. Paul: 4 residents work here (3%)Kugler TownshipBreitung TownshipGreenwood Township: 11 residents work here (9%)SoudanTowerVirginiaGreenwood TownshipDuluthElyMountain IronSoudan
1
Tower1.8 mi away
18%22
2
Virginia23.7 mi away
12%14
39%11
4
Duluth71.9 mi away
8%9
5
Ely18.8 mi away
6%7
6
Mountain Iron26.1 mi away
5%6
7
St. Paul202.2 mi away
3%4
8
Biwabik19.5 mi away
3%3
9
Hibbing43.9 mi away
3%3
10
Babbitt18.5 mi away
3%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
32%38
The top trips

Where Soudan clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

Jobs based in SoudanJobs Soudan residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%26%
Trade, transport & utilities0%10%
Services: health, schools, offices100%64%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less33%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month67%28%
Over $3,333 a month0%54%

Who does it

29 or younger17%27%
30 to 5433%49%
55 and older50%24%
+200%

Jobs based in Soudan, 2013 → 2023: 2 → 6. 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 Soudan’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

The trip to work from Soudan: about 27 minutes

A year of commuting
205 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Soudan27 min
Minnesota23 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
8%

of Soudan workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Soudan gets to work
83%Drive alone
17%Carpool

Share of the 169 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.

How far

Soudan’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miTower: 18% · 1.8 miVirginia: 12% · 23.7 miGreenwood Township: 9% · 6.1 miDuluth: 8% · 71.9 miEly: 6% · 18.8 miMountain Iron: 5% · 26.1 miSt. Paul: 3% · 202.2 miBiwabik: 3% · 19.5 miHibbing: 3% · 43.9 miBabbitt: 3% · 18.5 miTower 18%Virginia 12%Greenwood Township 9%Duluth 8%Ely 6%Soudan
SoudanTop destinations (size = commuters)
32%Under 10 mi38 residents
26%10–24 mi31 residents
14%25–50 mi17 residents
28%Over 50 mi34 residents

About 28% 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 to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Soudan: questions

What is the median household income in Soudan?

$56,307 (±$6,889) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Soudan?

12.0%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Soudan?

27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Soudan work?

2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tower (18%, 2 mi), Virginia (12%, 24 mi), Greenwood Township (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Soudan without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Soudan, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Soudan

Soudan home →

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.