Photo: Omnedon · Public domainWork and commuting in Bismarck
186 jobs are based in Bismarck, against 266 working residents. Only 5% work in Bismarck itself; outside it, Danville draws the most (37%, 8 miles). The trip to work takes 24 minutes on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Bismarck, in brief
The places Bismarck commutes to
Where Bismarck clocks in
37% of workers
7% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Bismarck
On a workday 253 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 173 people come in from elsewhere.
About 500 people are in Bismarck on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.70 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bismarck, 2013 → 2023: 5 → 186. 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 Bismarck’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Bismarck spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bismarck workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 214 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Bismarck works
About 27% 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 Bismarck: questions
What is the median household income in Bismarck?
$79,583 (±$38,978) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bismarck?
9.9%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bismarck?
24 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bismarck work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Danville (37%, 8 mi), Danville Township (7%, 11 mi), Tilton (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Bismarck without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bismarck, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bismarck
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.