Photo: Myotus · CC BY 4.0Wadena Township has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The average commute takes 18 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. Wadena Township has 117 jobs; 333 of its residents have a job. 20% of workers have no commute at all, where Minnesota as a whole has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Wadena Township stands out on work
Wadena Township and Wadena trade workers both ways
Wadena is the top workplace for Wadena Township residents (40%) and also where the most people who work in Wadena Township come from (24% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Wadena Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota 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 333 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
40% of working residents work in Wadena
Where Wadena Township clocks in
40% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
Commuting from Wadena Township: about 18 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wadena Township workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 435 commuters (the 20% 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 a workday changes Wadena Township
On a workday 330 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 114 people come in from elsewhere.
About 720 people are in Wadena Township on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
Making and building: 46% of jobs based in Wadena Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wadena Township, 2013 → 2023: 74 → 117. 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 Wadena Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Wadena Township commutes less than 15 miles
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.
40% of Wadena Township works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wadena Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadena Township | – | — | — | 18 min | $79,063 |
| Wadena | 40% | D | A− | 15 min | $56,080 |
| Leaf River Township | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Aldrich Township | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Stowe Prairie Township | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Compton Township | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Leaf River Township, Aldrich Township, Stowe Prairie Township and Compton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Wadena. Darker towns draw more of Wadena 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 Wadena Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wadena Township?
$79,063 (±$12,830) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wadena Township?
6.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wadena Township?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wadena Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wadena (40%, 3 mi), Staples (6%, 13 mi), Perham (5%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Wadena Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wadena Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wadena 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.