Photo: afiler · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer people are out of work in Lincoln (1.1%) than in 94% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 20 minutes each way; North Dakota averages 18, the U.S. 26. Lincoln grades A− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Hardly any work in Lincoln itself; outside it, Bismarck draws the most (70%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Lincoln
More than half of Lincoln works in Bismarck
1,560 working residents, 70%, have their main job in Bismarck, 4.8 miles away. That’s 70 times as many as work in Lincoln itself. The commute map ↓
Most Lincoln residents work close to home
79% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Lincoln is a place people come home to
There are 144 jobs based in Lincoln, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Lincoln has about 2,400 people in it, 47% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Lincoln’s working residents have a job less than 6 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 20 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.
Lincoln’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lincoln is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #6 of 23 in North Dakota. Unemployment holds Lincoln’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 47% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lincoln could be anywhere from B to A.
Commuting out of Lincoln: the destinations
Where Lincoln clocks in
70% of workers
6% 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.
Where in the region Lincoln works
About 15% 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.
A workday in Lincoln: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,217 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 126 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,400 people are in Lincoln on a workday afternoon, 47% fewer than live here.
0.06 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.
Lincoln’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lincoln workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,594 commuters (the 4% 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.
What the 144 jobs in Lincoln are
144 jobs are based in Lincoln.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lincoln, 2013 → 2023: 169 → 144. 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 Lincoln’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Lincoln: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lincoln is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns, #20 of 23 in North Dakota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below 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 2,711 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). 0.9% of Lincoln households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Lincoln’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lincoln places 809th of 4,088 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 3,100 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Hay Creek Township ND | 4,380 | $161K | 0.7% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 314 | Apple Creek Township ND | 3,515 | $157K | 2.2% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 807 | Reliez Valley CA | 3,173 | $250K | 5.3% | 6.9% | 1% | A− |
| 808 | Lambertville NJ | 4,198 | $110K | 3.1% | 6.1% | 7% | A− |
| 809 | Lincoln ND | 4,493 | $88K | 5.6% | 1.1% | 1% | A− |
| 810 | Rothschild WI | 5,627 | $88K | 8.4% | 0.3% | 6% | A− |
| 811 | Bethlehem CT | 3,455 | $109K | 10.4% | 1.9% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,110 | Minot AFB ND | 4,878 | $63K | 1.2% | 6.1% | 9% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,088 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Lincoln, the top three, the last and three more from North Dakota.
Around Lincoln: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Apple Creek Township (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lincoln workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | – | A− | C− | 20 min | $87,652 |
| Apple Creek Township | 1% | A | D | 26 min | $156,615 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lincoln’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 Lincoln: questions
What is the median household income in Lincoln?
$87,652 (±$14,393) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lincoln?
5.6%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lincoln?
20 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lincoln work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bismarck (70%, 5 mi), Mandan (6%, 10 mi), Fargo (2%, 183 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lincoln walkable?
Lincoln is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lincoln without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lincoln, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lincoln
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.