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Bowdon, North Dakota 6-14-2008Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Bowdon

Bowdon has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each

At home: 0% of workers have no commute at all (North Dakota 8%). Bowdon has 25 jobs, against 54 working residents. Only 7% stay in Bowdon for work; outside it, Fessenden is the main destination (19%, 13 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily commute in and out of Bowdon

On a workday 50 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 21 people come in from elsewhere.

50live here, work elsewhere
4live and work here
21work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night130
Workday100
130live here− 50head out to work+ 21come in to work= 100on a workday

About 100 people are in Bowdon on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.46jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

Where people from Bowdon work

Newburg: 1 residents work here (2%)Hurdsfield: 1 residents work here (2%)BowdonFessenden: 10 residents work here (19%)Harvey: 7 residents work here (13%)Carrington: 4 residents work here (7%)Watford CityMandan: 3 residents work here (6%)West Fargo: 2 residents work here (4%)Bismarck: 3 residents work here (6%)Fargo: 6 residents work here (11%)St. Anna TownshipJohnson TownshipSand Creek TownshipFairville TownshipForward TownshipFessendenHarveyFargoCarringtonMandanBismarckBowdon
1
Fessenden13.1 mi away
19%10
2
Harvey23.8 mi away
13%7
3
Fargo141.6 mi away
11%6
4
Bowdon (in town)right here
7%4
5
Carrington27 mi away
7%4
6
Mandan70.8 mi away
6%3
7
Bismarck67.2 mi away
6%3
8
West Fargo138.3 mi away
4%2
9
Newburg102.4 mi away
2%1
10
Hurdsfield10.5 mi away
2%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
24%13
The top trips

Where Bowdon clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

36% of the jobs in Bowdon make or build things

Jobs based in BowdonJobs Bowdon residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms36%15%
Trade, transport & utilities24%30%
Services: health, schools, offices40%56%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less56%11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month16%41%
Over $3,333 a month28%48%

Who does it

29 or younger40%24%
30 to 5436%63%
55 and older24%13%
−14%

Jobs based in Bowdon, 2013 → 2023: 29 → 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 Bowdon’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Each way, about 35 minutes from Bowdon

A year of commuting
270 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Bowdon35 min
North Dakota18 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Bowdon workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Bowdon gets to work
77%Drive alone
8%Carpool
15%Walk

Share of the 48 commuters (the 0% 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.

How far

Near or far: the trip to work from Bowdon

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miFessenden: 19% · 13.1 miHarvey: 13% · 23.8 miFargo: 11% · 141.6 miCarrington: 7% · 27 miMandan: 6% · 70.8 miBismarck: 6% · 67.2 miWest Fargo: 4% · 138.3 miNewburg: 2% · 102.4 miHurdsfield: 2% · 10.5 miFessenden 19%Harvey 13%Fargo 11%Carrington 7%Mandan 6%Bowdon
BowdonTop destinations (size = commuters)
7%Under 10 mi4 residents
41%10–24 mi22 residents
15%25–50 mi8 residents
37%Over 50 mi20 residents

About 37% 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Bowdon: questions

What is the poverty rate in Bowdon?

2.2%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Bowdon?

35 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Bowdon work?

7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fessenden (19%, 13 mi), Harvey (13%, 24 mi), Fargo (11%, 142 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Bowdon 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 Bowdon, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Bowdon

Bowdon home →

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.