Photo: Billybob2002 · CC BY 4.0About half of Moorhead’s working residents commute to Fargo
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 26.2 in Minneapolis. Moorhead grades C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in five work in Moorhead; the top destination outside it is Fargo (48%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Moorhead: the figures worth knowing
Many Moorhead workers cross into North Dakota
52% of Moorhead workers work outside Minnesota, most of them in North Dakota, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Moorhead live in another state
Fargo, ND (25%), West Fargo, ND (7%) and Horace, ND (1%) are among the top places Moorhead’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 33% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Most Moorhead residents work close to home
81% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Nearly half of Moorhead works in Fargo
9,358 working residents, 48%, have their main job in Fargo, ND, 4 miles away across the town line. That’s twice as many as work in Moorhead itself. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Moorhead are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 23 across Minnesota. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Minnesota worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The figures behind Moorhead’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Moorhead is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #215 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car holds Moorhead’s grade up (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (16.1%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Moorhead could be anywhere from C to B.
The towns that employ Moorhead’s residents
Where Moorhead clocks in
48% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Moorhead
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.
From Moorhead, about 18 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Moorhead workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,438 commuters (the 13% 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.
In and out of Moorhead on a workday
On a workday 15,165 residents head out to work, 4,279 work right here, and 8,890 people come in from elsewhere.
About 40,000 people are in Moorhead on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
What the 13,169 jobs in Moorhead are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Moorhead, 2013 → 2023: 11,869 → 13,169. 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 Moorhead’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Moorhead
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Moorhead is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #15 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Moorhead near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 23,375 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 71% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 60% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.0% of Moorhead households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Moorhead’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 923 U.S. towns of 33,000 to 63,000, Moorhead comes 688th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Andover MN | 33,874 | $138K | 3.3% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 78 | Minnetonka MN | 53,969 | $120K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Edina MN | 54,356 | $129K | 4.7% | 3.9% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 686 | Pensacola FL | 53,817 | $74K | 12.6% | 6.3% | 39% | C+ |
| 687 | Roseville MI | 46,863 | $62K | 12.5% | 6.7% | 6% | C+ |
| 688 | Moorhead MN | 46,533 | $73K | 16.1% | 5.0% | 22% | C+ |
| 689 | Cleveland Heights OH | 43,750 | $73K | 15.9% | 6.8% | 7% | C+ |
| 690 | Meriden CT | 60,810 | $71K | 13.2% | 8.0% | 17% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 923 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Moorhead, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
50% of Moorhead works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Moorhead workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moorhead | – | C+ | A | 18 min | $72,761 |
| Moorhead Township | under 1% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Dilworth | 2% | B+ | A+ | 19 min | $90,694 |
| Oakport Township | under 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Glyndon Township | under 1% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Moorhead Township, Oakport Township and Glyndon Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fargo. Darker towns draw more of Moorhead’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 Moorhead: questions
What is the median household income in Moorhead?
$72,761 (±$5,984) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Moorhead?
16.1%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Moorhead?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Moorhead work?
22% work in town.
Is Moorhead walkable?
Moorhead is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Moorhead without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 60% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Moorhead, from the people who make the trip.
More of Moorhead
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.