Jobs and earnings in Wolf Lake, and the trip to work
The trip to work takes 22 minutes on average (Minnesota 23, U.S. 26). Hardly any work in Wolf Lake itself; outside it, Detroit Lakes draws the most (24%, 24 miles). Home is the office for 11% of workers; Minnesota has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Wolf Lake by day and by night
On a workday 17 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.
About 60 people are in Wolf Lake on a workday afternoon, 10% 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.
Where the trip to work from Wolf Lake ends
Where Wolf Lake clocks in
24% of workers
12% of workers
12% 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.
A place that makes things: 50% of Wolf Lake’s jobs are in goods
10 jobs are based in Wolf Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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 Wolf Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Wolf Lake, about 22 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wolf Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 39 commuters (the 11% 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 Wolf Lake
About 29% 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.
Wolf Lake and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wolf Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Lake | – | — | — | 22 min | $65,833 |
| Wolf Lake Township | under 6% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Spruce Grove Township | under 6% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wolf Lake Township and Spruce Grove Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wolf Lake’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 Wolf Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Wolf Lake?
$65,833 (±$25,585) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wolf Lake?
14.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wolf Lake?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wolf Lake work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit Lakes (24%, 24 mi), Menahga (12%, 12 mi), Wadena (12%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Wolf Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wolf Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wolf Lake
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.