Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in Fargo earn less than those in 63% of U.S. towns
About two in three stay in Fargo for work; outside it, West Fargo is the main destination (10%, 4 miles). 12.9% of residents are in poverty (North Dakota 10.8%). The two grades for Fargo are B− 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
Work in Fargo: the figures worth knowing
Most jobs in Fargo go to people who live here
Of the 96,916 jobs based in Fargo, 46% are held by Fargo residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Fargo is where the jobs are
Fargo has 96,916 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Fargo
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fargo is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #12 of 23 in North Dakota. Job access by car holds Fargo’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fargo could be anywhere from C+ to B.
Fargo fills up on a workday
On a workday 18,754 residents head out to work, 44,269 work right here, and 52,647 people come in from elsewhere.
About 170,000 people are in Fargo on a workday afternoon, 25% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip into Fargo
Where Fargo clocks in
10% of workers
5% of workers
2% 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.
65% of the jobs in Fargo pay over $3,333 a month
96,916 jobs are based in Fargo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fargo, 2013 → 2023: 86,855 → 96,916. 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 Fargo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Fargo: about 16 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fargo workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 68,445 commuters (the 10% 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.
Fargo’s commute, mile by mile
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.
In Fargo, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fargo is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #2 of 23 in North Dakota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above the 4.2% across North Dakota.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 75,907 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 92% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 60% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.3% of Fargo households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Fargo’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Ranked on jobs and income, Fargo is 166th among 275 U.S. towns of 95,000 to 184,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 164 | Rialto CA | 106,554 | $89K | 12.7% | 7.7% | 9% | B− |
| 165 | Aurora Township IL | 127,446 | $76K | 12.1% | 6.2% | 21% | B− |
| 166 | Fargo ND | 136,275 | $67K | 12.9% | 3.8% | 70% | B− |
| 167 | Antioch CA | 118,958 | $97K | 11.4% | 7.4% | 10% | B− |
| 168 | Clearwater FL | 114,364 | $66K | 14.8% | 4.2% | 20% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 275 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Fargo, the top three, the last and three more from North Dakota.
Fargo and its neighbors: 16% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fargo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fargo | – | B− | A | 16 min | $66,998 |
| Stanley Township | under 1% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Reed Township | 1% | A+ | C | 20 min | $130,938 |
| West Fargo | 10% | A− | B+ | 17 min | $90,665 |
| Horace | under 1% | A+ | C− | 29 min | $138,578 |
| Frontier | under 1% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Pleasant Township | under 1% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Briarwood | under 1% | — | — | 13 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Stanley Township, Frontier, Pleasant Township and Briarwood: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to West Fargo. Darker towns draw more of Fargo’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 Fargo: questions
What is the median household income in Fargo?
$66,998 (±$2,732) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fargo?
12.9%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fargo?
16 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fargo work?
70% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Fargo (10%, 4 mi), Moorhead (5%, 4 mi), Bismarck (2%, 186 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fargo walkable?
Fargo is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fargo without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 60% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fargo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fargo
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.