Work, pay and getting to work in Whalan
A typical one-way commute from Whalan lasts 53 minutes (Minnesota 23, U.S. 26). Hardly any work in Whalan; the top destination outside it is Lanesboro (18%, 3 miles). 25% of workers work from home, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Whalan: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 44 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 26 people come in from elsewhere.
About 51 people are in Whalan on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
0.59 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 towns that employ Whalan’s residents
Where Whalan clocks in
9% 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.
Whalan makes things: 65% of its jobs are in goods
26 jobs are based in Whalan.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Whalan, 2013 → 2023: 7 → 26. 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 Whalan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 53 minutes to work from Whalan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 16.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Whalan workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18 commuters (the 25% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Whalan
About 16% 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.
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 Whalan: questions
What is the median household income in Whalan?
$125,625 (±$64,528) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Whalan?
0.0%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Whalan?
53 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Whalan work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lanesboro (18%, 3 mi), Rochester (9%, 34 mi), Mabel (7%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Whalan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Whalan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Whalan
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.