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Dawson, North Dakota 6-10-2008Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Dawson

Dawson has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

7 jobs are based in Dawson for 24 working residents. Hardly any stay in Dawson for work; outside it, Bismarck is the main destination (29%, 48 miles). 0% of workers work from home; North Dakota has 8%.

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

Day and night

Dawson by day and by night

On a workday 24 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 7 people come in from elsewhere.

24live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
7work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night76
Workday59
76live here− 24head out to work+ 7come in to work= 59on a workday

About 59 people are in Dawson on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.29jobs 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 the trip to work from Dawson ends

Pettibone: 1 residents work here (4%)Tuttle: 1 residents work here (4%)DawsonSteele: 5 residents work here (21%)Gackle: 1 residents work here (4%)NapoleonBowman: 1 residents work here (4%)Bismarck: 7 residents work here (29%)Grand Forks: 1 residents work here (4%)Williams Township: 2 residents work here (8%)Woodlawn Township: 3 residents work here (13%)Pettibone Township: 1 residents work here (4%)Gibbs TownshipExcelsior TownshipTuttle TownshipBismarckSteeleWoodlawn TownshipWilliams TownshipPettiboneTuttleDawson
1
Bismarck48.1 mi away
29%7
2
Steele7.8 mi away
21%5
313%3
48%2
5
Pettibone20.4 mi away
4%1
6
Tuttle22.2 mi away
4%1
7
Gackle33.4 mi away
4%1
8
Bowman179.8 mi away
4%1
9
Grand Forks144.3 mi away
4%1
10
Pettibone Township19.4 mi away
4%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
4%1
The top trips

Where Dawson 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

Services make up most of the work in Dawson

Jobs based in DawsonJobs Dawson residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%29%
Trade, transport & utilities0%25%
Services: health, schools, offices100%46%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less29%17%
$1,251–$3,333 a month14%17%
Over $3,333 a month57%67%

Who does it

29 or younger43%29%
30 to 5429%54%
55 and older29%17%

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 Dawson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 23 minutes each way, longer than most of North Dakota

A year of commuting
174 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Dawson23 min
North Dakota18 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

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

About 0 in 10
How Dawson gets to work
88%Drive alone
12%Carpool

Share of the 33 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

Half of Dawson commutes less than 20 miles

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miBismarck: 29% · 48.1 miSteele: 21% · 7.8 miWoodlawn Township: 13% · 6.2 miWilliams Township: 8% · 13 miPettibone: 4% · 20.4 miTuttle: 4% · 22.2 miGackle: 4% · 33.4 miBowman: 4% · 179.8 miGrand Forks: 4% · 144.3 miPettibone Township: 4% · 19.4 miBismarck 29%Steele 21%Woodlawn Township 13%Williams Township 8%Pettibone 4%Dawson
DawsonTop destinations (size = commuters)
33%Under 10 mi8 residents
21%10–24 mi5 residents
33%25–50 mi8 residents
13%Over 50 mi3 residents

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 Dawson: questions

What is the poverty rate in Dawson?

16.7%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Dawson?

23 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 Dawson work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bismarck (29%, 48 mi), Steele (21%, 8 mi), Woodlawn Township (13%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

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

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Dawson

Dawson 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.