Counties with the most super commuters in Minnesota
There are more than 281 million vehicles on the road in the United States, and many of those cars, trucks, vans, and motorcycles are used to ferry people to and from their homes and jobs during their daily commutes. A small but growing number of people are walking and biking to work, particularly in compact college towns. Many more take public transportation, especially in major cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, and Seattle—but nationwide, public transit accounts for only about 5% of daily commutes.
The overwhelming majority of people still drive to and from work every day, and the vast majority of those car commuters drive alone—fewer than 10% of Americans carpool. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average one-way commute in the United States has grown to a record 27.1 minutes. That’s just shy of an hour a day that average Americans squander behind the wheel, not at home with their families, and instead, burning gas and putting miles on their cars.
For some Americans, however, the commute to work is far from average. A phenomenon known as super commuting has emerged and grown in recent years. Super commuters spend 90 minutes or more—each way—chasing their paychecks every day. The biggest percentage of super commuters work in the extraction industry, with workers pursuing lucrative jobs in remote mines, oil fields, and other energy operations. Many more, however, have been priced out of expensive housing in urban metro areas where high-paying jobs are located, far away from their less-expensive county of residence.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most super commuters in Minnesota using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by highest percent of workers with a commute over 90 minutes, based on 2019 5-year estimates. Keep reading to see where in your state people are spending the most time going to and from work every day.
#30. Wright County
--- #1,460 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 40.8% more common than state average
--- 17.6% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.5 minutes
--- #396 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 28.7% longer than state average
--- 10.5% longer than national average
#29. Koochiching County
--- #1,416 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 43.2% more common than state average
--- 16.2% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 14.6 minutes
--- #2,982 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 38.4% shorter than state average
--- 47.1% shorter than national average
#28. Wabasha County
--- #1,403 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 44.3% more common than state average
--- 15.5% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.6 minutes
--- #1,335 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.8% longer than state average
--- 10.9% shorter than national average
#27. Swift County
--- #1,366 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 46.9% more common than state average
--- 14.0% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 19.3 minutes
--- #2,441 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 18.6% shorter than state average
--- 30.1% shorter than national average
#26. Otter Tail County
--- #1,358 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 47.2% more common than state average
--- 13.8% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.6 minutes
--- #2,015 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 8.9% shorter than state average
--- 21.7% shorter than national average
#25. Wadena County
--- #1,325 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 50.0% more common than state average
--- 12.3% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.8 minutes
--- #1,985 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 8.0% shorter than state average
--- 21.0% shorter than national average
#24. Stearns County
--- #1,303 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 52.0% more common than state average
--- 11.1% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.1 minutes
--- #2,114 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 11.0% shorter than state average
--- 23.6% shorter than national average
#23. Marshall County
--- #1,230 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 56.7% more common than state average
--- 8.3% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.5 minutes
--- #1,363 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.4% longer than state average
--- 11.2% shorter than national average
#22. McLeod County
--- #1,196 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 59.6% more common than state average
--- 6.6% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.9 minutes
--- #1,518 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 0.8% longer than state average
--- 13.4% shorter than national average
#21. Sherburne County
--- #1,129 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 65.2% more common than state average
--- 3.3% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 32.4 minutes
--- #233 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 36.7% longer than state average
--- 17.4% longer than national average
#20. Fillmore County
--- #1,102 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 67.6% more common than state average
--- 2.0% less common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.5 minutes
--- #795 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 16.0% longer than state average
--- 0.4% shorter than national average
#19. Cass County
--- #1,049 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 72.9% more common than state average
--- 1.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.6 minutes
--- #1,581 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 0.4% shorter than state average
--- 14.5% shorter than national average
#18. Murray County
--- #1,017 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 76.2% more common than state average
--- 3.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 19.9 minutes
--- #2,331 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 16.0% shorter than state average
--- 27.9% shorter than national average
#17. Grant County
--- #1,016 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 76.4% more common than state average
--- 3.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 22.6 minutes
--- #1,808 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 4.6% shorter than state average
--- 18.1% shorter than national average
#16. Red Lake County
--- #988 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 78.7% more common than state average
--- 4.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.4 minutes
--- #1,392 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.0% longer than state average
--- 11.6% shorter than national average
#15. Todd County
--- #873 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 93.4% more common than state average
--- 13.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.4 minutes
--- #1,392 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.0% longer than state average
--- 11.6% shorter than national average
#14. Crow Wing County
--- #835 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 97.1% more common than state average
--- 15.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 21.8 minutes
--- #1,985 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 8.0% shorter than state average
--- 21.0% shorter than national average
#13. Benton County
--- #827 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 98.5% more common than state average
--- 16.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 22.9 minutes
--- #1,733 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 3.4% shorter than state average
--- 17.0% shorter than national average
#12. Kittson County
--- #807 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 100.8% more common than state average
--- 17.5% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 22.2 minutes
--- #1,900 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 6.3% shorter than state average
--- 19.6% shorter than national average
#11. Itasca County
--- #772 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 105.5% more common than state average
--- 20.2% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.3 minutes
--- #1,651 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 1.7% shorter than state average
--- 15.6% shorter than national average
#10. Meeker County
--- #699 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 115.9% more common than state average
--- 26.3% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 24.2 minutes
--- #1,451 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 2.1% longer than state average
--- 12.3% shorter than national average
#9. Hubbard County
--- #695 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 117.0% more common than state average
--- 27.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 23.2 minutes
--- #1,674 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 2.1% shorter than state average
--- 15.9% shorter than national average
#8. Pipestone County
--- #616 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 130.5% more common than state average
--- 34.9% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 20.9 minutes
--- #2,148 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 11.8% shorter than state average
--- 24.3% shorter than national average
#7. Morrison County
--- #491 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 156.5% more common than state average
--- 50.1% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.5 minutes
--- #954 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 11.8% longer than state average
--- 4.0% shorter than national average
#6. Clearwater County
--- #445 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 169.7% more common than state average
--- 57.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 26.6 minutes
--- #934 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 12.2% longer than state average
--- 3.6% shorter than national average
#5. Isanti County
--- #430 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 174.8% more common than state average
--- 60.8% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 35.6 minutes
--- #86 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 50.2% longer than state average
--- 29.0% longer than national average
#4. Mille Lacs County
--- #390 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 184.9% more common than state average
--- 66.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 30.3 minutes
--- #418 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 27.8% longer than state average
--- 9.8% longer than national average
#3. Aitkin County
--- #297 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 215.7% more common than state average
--- 84.7% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 27.8 minutes
--- #741 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 17.3% longer than state average
--- 0.7% longer than national average
#2. Kanabec County
--- #121 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 322.2% more common than state average
--- 147.0% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 31.2 minutes
--- #327 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 31.6% longer than state average
--- 13.0% longer than national average
#1. Pine County
--- #117 most common among all counties nationwide
--- 323.1% more common than state average
--- 147.6% more common than national average
- Average commute time: 31.6 minutes
--- #290 longest among all counties nationwide
--- 33.3% longer than state average
--- 14.5% longer than national average