Photo: Myotus · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Gary works elsewhere
At home: 7% of workers have no commute at all (Minnesota 18%). Employers in Gary report 25 jobs, and 87 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% stay in Gary for work; outside it, Fargo is the main destination (15%, 44 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Gary
On a workday 85 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 23 people come in from elsewhere.
About 160 people are in Gary on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
Commuting out of Gary: the destinations
Where Gary clocks in
15% of workers
10% of workers
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.
Factories, building and farms: 44% of the jobs in Gary
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gary, 2013 → 2023: 37 → 25. 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 Gary’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 27 minutes in Gary
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gary workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 118 commuters (the 7% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Gary
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 Gary: questions
What is the median household income in Gary?
$83,750 (±$7,956) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gary?
5.2%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gary?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gary work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fargo (15%, 44 mi), Ada (10%, 13 mi), Mahnomen (9%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Gary 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 Gary, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gary
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.