Most of The Lakes commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Only 2% work in The Lakes itself; outside it, Marshall draws the most (17%, 24 miles). Employers in The Lakes report 58 jobs; 259 of its residents have a job. Commuters spend 30 minutes getting to work on average, where Minnesota has 23 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from The Lakes
The Lakes is a place people come home to
There are 58 jobs based in The Lakes, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday The Lakes has about 390 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The Lakes’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside The Lakes is Marshall, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (43) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The Lakes workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 259 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How a workday changes The Lakes
On a workday 255 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 54 people come in from elsewhere.
About 390 people are in The Lakes on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer 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.
Short hops and long hauls from The Lakes
About 26% 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.
Getting to work from The Lakes takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of The Lakes workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 226 commuters (the 18% 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.
Where The Lakes’ working residents head each day
Where The Lakes clocks in
17% of workers
16% 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 The Lakes
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in The Lakes, 2013 → 2023: 32 → 58. 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 The Lakes’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The Lakes and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | The Lakes workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lakes | – | — | — | 30 min | $87,969 |
| Shetek Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Lake Sarah Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Shetek Township and Lake Sarah Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of The Lakes’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 The Lakes: questions
What is the median household income in The Lakes?
$87,969 (±$7,617) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in The Lakes?
3.5%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from The Lakes?
30 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in The Lakes work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marshall (17%, 24 mi), Slayton (16%, 9 mi), Tracy (8%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around The Lakes without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from The Lakes, from the people who make the trip.
More of The Lakes
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.