Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0Work, pay and getting to work in Belfield
Commuters spend 29 minutes getting to work on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. About one in seven stay in Belfield for work; outside it, Dickinson is the main destination (21%, 19 miles). 582 jobs are based in Belfield, against 425 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Belfield stands out on work
Belfield and Dickinson trade workers both ways
Dickinson is the top workplace for Belfield residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Belfield come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Belfield workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 18 across North Dakota. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 425 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Belfield to work: where people go
Where Belfield clocks in
21% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
About 29 minutes to work from Belfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belfield workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 321 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across North Dakota: 85% 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.
The commute from Belfield, by distance
About 32% 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.
Who commutes out of Belfield, and who commutes in
On a workday 355 residents head out to work, 70 work right here, and 512 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Belfield on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
39% of the jobs in Belfield make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belfield, 2013 → 2023: 673 → 582. 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 Belfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Belfield: questions
What is the median household income in Belfield?
$45,938 (±$27,752) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belfield?
15.9%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belfield?
29 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belfield work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dickinson (21%, 19 mi), South Heart (5%, 10 mi), Bismarck (5%, 115 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Belfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belfield
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.