Most of Fargo commutes out: there are 0.6 jobs for every working resident
Employers in Fargo report 11 jobs, against 20 working residents. Hardly any work in Fargo; the top destination outside it is Brinkley (30%, 4 miles). 0% of workers work from home, next to 9% for Arkansas as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Fargo: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 20 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 11 people come in from elsewhere.
About 49 people are in Fargo on a workday afternoon, 16% 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.
The towns that employ Fargo’s residents
Where Fargo clocks in
30% of workers
10% of workers
10% 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.
In Fargo, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fargo, 2013 → 2023: 1 → 11. 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 Fargo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Fargo: about 11 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fargo workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Arkansas: 87% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Fargo’s workers travel
About 35% 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 Fargo: questions
What is the poverty rate in Fargo?
60.0%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fargo?
11 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fargo work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brinkley (30%, 4 mi), Forrest City (10%, 22 mi), Memphis (10%, 69 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fargo without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 18% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fargo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fargo
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.