Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0About half of Burlington’s working residents commute to Minot
2% of workers work from home (North Dakota 8%). The two grades for Burlington are B for jobs and income and D for walkability. Hardly any work in Burlington; the top destination outside it is Minot (46%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Burlington in brief
Burlington is a place people come home to
There are 83 jobs based in Burlington, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Burlington has about 880 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Burlington’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 23 minutes, longer than the North Dakota average of 18. 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; with 551 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Burlington
On income, poverty and job access, Burlington is better than 64% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Burlington’s grade up (3.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 31% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (4.8%) is left out: Burlington’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Burlington could be anywhere from B− to B+.
The towns that employ Burlington’s residents
Where Burlington clocks in
4% of workers
4% 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.
How a workday changes Burlington
On a workday 549 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 81 people come in from elsewhere.
About 880 people are in Burlington on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.15 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.
About 23 minutes each way for Burlington’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burlington workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 534 commuters (the 2% 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.
Inside Burlington’s 83 jobs
83 jobs are based in Burlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burlington, 2013 → 2023: 94 → 83. 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 Burlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Burlington
About 28% 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.
Few in Burlington walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Burlington is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Burlington 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 543 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.3% of Burlington households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Burlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Burlington ranks: 1,189th of 5,400 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Reed Township ND | 1,151 | $131K | 0.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 191 | Williston Township ND | 1,116 | $250K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 376 | Sundre Township ND | 1,024 | $107K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,187 | Gill MA | 1,551 | $90K | 5.8% | 6.3% | 8% | B |
| 1,188 | Prince's Lakes IN | 1,384 | $89K | 6.8% | 1.7% | 1% | B |
| 1,189 | Burlington ND | 1,350 | $78K | 3.0% | 4.8% | <1% | B |
| 1,190 | West Kewaunee WI | 1,289 | $91K | 7.7% | 0.7% | 2% | B |
| 1,191 | Summerland CA | 1,348 | $96K | 12.2% | 12.0% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Burlington, the top three, the last and three more from North Dakota.
The towns around Burlington
The biggest share goes to Harrison Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burlington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | – | B | D | 23 min | $77,708 |
| Burlington Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Harrison Township | 4% | A− | D | 20 min | $122,361 |
| Kirkelie Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Burlington Township and Kirkelie Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Burlington’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 Burlington: questions
What is the median household income in Burlington?
$77,708 (±$10,673) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burlington?
3.0%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burlington?
23 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burlington work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minot (46%, 6 mi), Bismarck (4%, 104 mi), Fargo (4%, 234 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Burlington walkable?
Burlington is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burlington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burlington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burlington
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.