Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Devils Lake earn less than those in 94% of U.S. towns
More than half stay in Devils Lake for work; outside it, Fargo is the main destination (5%, 129 miles). Below the poverty line: 21.8% of residents; North Dakota has 10.8%. Devils Lake grades C− for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Devils Lake stands out on work
The figures behind Devils Lake’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Devils Lake is better than 23% of U.S. towns, #20 of 23 in North Dakota. Unemployment holds Devils Lake’s grade up (1.7%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($43,220, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Devils Lake could be anywhere from D to C+.
A commute of about 12 minutes in Devils Lake
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Devils Lake workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,595 commuters (the 6% 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.
Devils Lake by day and by night
On a workday 1,464 residents head out to work, 1,677 work right here, and 2,359 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,200 people are in Devils Lake on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 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.
The towns that employ Devils Lake’s residents
Where Devils Lake clocks in
5% of workers
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.
What work there is in Devils Lake: 4,036 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Devils Lake, 2013 → 2023: 4,109 → 4,036. 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 Devils Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Devils Lake’s commute, mile by mile
About 27% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Devils Lake
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Devils Lake is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #3 of 23 in North Dakota. Both inputs place Devils Lake 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 3,808 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). 14.3% of Devils Lake households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Devils Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,584th of 3,154: where Devils Lake ranks among U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 177 | Horace ND | 7,001 | $139K | 4.3% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,167 | Watford City ND | 6,378 | $102K | 7.8% | 0.6% | 38% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,191 | Wahpeton ND | 8,141 | $63K | 15.6% | 1.7% | 39% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,582 | Pollock Pines CA | 6,212 | $75K | 16.7% | 5.1% | 6% | C− |
| 2,583 | Inwood FL | 7,556 | $56K | 20.3% | 6.5% | 2% | C− |
| 2,584 | Devils Lake ND | 7,333 | $43K | 21.8% | 1.7% | 53% | C− |
| 2,585 | Herkimer NY | 9,432 | $56K | 21.7% | 4.9% | 21% | C− |
| 2,586 | St. Martin MS | 8,139 | $55K | 17.2% | 6.7% | 3% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,154 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Devils Lake, the top three, the last and three more from North Dakota.
Devils Lake and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Creel Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Devils Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devils Lake | – | C− | A | 12 min | $43,220 |
| Creel Township | 2% | B+ | C− | 11 min | $113,942 |
| North Creel Township | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. North Creel Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Devils Lake’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 Devils Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Devils Lake?
$43,220 (±$8,253) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Devils Lake?
21.8%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Devils Lake?
12 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Devils Lake work?
53% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fargo (5%, 129 mi), Grand Forks (4%, 84 mi), Bismarck (4%, 126 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Devils Lake walkable?
Devils Lake is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Devils Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Devils Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Devils Lake
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.