Photo: U.S. Geologicial Survey · Public domainHousehold incomes put Fort Totten near the very bottom of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 39.8% of residents, next to 10.8% for North Dakota as a whole. Measured by household income, Fort Totten is among the lowest-earning towns in the country. With D− for jobs and income, Fort Totten is near the bottom of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Fort Totten’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Fort Totten is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Fort Totten’s grade.
Unemployment (0.0%) is left out: Fort Totten’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Fort Totten stays D−.
Fort Totten by day and by night
On a workday 150 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 281 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Fort Totten on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
1.8 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.
Commuting in to Fort Totten: where workers come from
Where Fort Totten clocks in
28% of workers
6% 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.
Most jobs in Fort Totten are in services
301 jobs are based in Fort Totten.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fort Totten, 2013 → 2023: 75 → 301. 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 Fort Totten’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Fort Totten: about 10 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fort Totten workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 104 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.
Miles to work from Fort Totten
About 25% 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.
Fort Totten next to U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Reed Township ND | 1,151 | $131K | 0.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Williston Township ND | 1,116 | $250K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 184 | Sundre Township ND | 1,024 | $107K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,124 | Covelo CA | 1,286 | $35K | 36.5% | 22.4% | 27% | D− |
| 3,125 | Towaoc CO | 1,078 | $23K | 62.0% | 13.1% | 29% | D− |
| 3,126 | Fort Totten ND | 1,038 | $20K | 39.8% | 0.0% | 12% | D− |
| 3,127 | Boley OK | 1,087 | $26K | 53.4% | 3.8% | 6% | D− |
| 3,128 | Renovo PA | 1,044 | $28K | 40.9% | 19.6% | 5% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | 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 Fort Totten, the top three, the last and three more from North Dakota.
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 Fort Totten: questions
What is the median household income in Fort Totten?
$20,250 (±$19,489) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fort Totten?
39.8%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fort Totten?
10 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 Fort Totten work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oberon (28%, 9 mi), Mission Township (19%, 8 mi), Devils Lake (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fort Totten without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 21% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fort Totten, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fort Totten
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.