Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0At 1.9%, unemployment in New Town is lower than in 86% of U.S. towns
About one in five stay in New Town for work; outside it, Parshall is the main destination (3%, 16 miles). The two grades for New Town are C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, New Town is behind 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in New Town: the gist
Most New Town residents work close to home
70% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in New Town than ten years ago
Jobs counted in New Town fell from 1,860 in 2013 to 788 in 2023, −58%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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; with 877 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in New Town
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, New Town is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #22 of 23 in North Dakota. Unemployment holds New Town’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Town could be anywhere from D to C+.
How far it is to work from New Town
About 16% 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.
69% of the jobs in New Town pay over $3,333 a month
788 jobs are based in New Town.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Town, 2013 → 2023: 1,860 → 788. 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 New Town’s own residents hold wherever they work.
New Town by day and by night
On a workday 694 residents head out to work, 183 work right here, and 605 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.90 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.
Where New Town goes to work
Where New Town clocks in
3% of workers
3% 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.
Commuting from New Town: about 14 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Town workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,029 commuters (the 1% 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.
The commute in New Town is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New Town is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns, #14 of 23 in North Dakota. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% 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 1,039 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). 7.6% of New Town households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of New Town’s commuters take a bus or train.
How New Town ranks: 3,895th of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 269 | Apple Creek Township ND | 3,515 | $157K | 2.2% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 403 | Gibbs Township ND | 2,856 | $156K | 1.4% | 2.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,168 | Casselton ND | 2,485 | $73K | 7.1% | 0.9% | 19% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,893 | Lake Hamilton FL | 3,007 | $60K | 26.9% | 1.1% | 1% | C− |
| 3,894 | Nicholson GA | 1,941 | $52K | 11.5% | 11.0% | <1% | C− |
| 3,895 | New Town ND | 2,715 | $53K | 24.0% | 1.9% | 21% | C− |
| 3,896 | Baxter TN | 2,128 | $59K | 20.5% | 0.8% | 2% | C− |
| 3,897 | Ganeer Township IL | 3,161 | $65K | 18.8% | 8.3% | 10% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 New Town, the top three, the last and three more from North Dakota.
Around New Town: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Town workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Town | – | C− | B+ | 14 min | $52,500 |
| Osborn Township | 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Osborn Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Osborn Township. Darker towns draw more of New Town’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 New Town: questions
What is the median household income in New Town?
$52,500 (±$16,093) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Town?
24.0%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Town?
14 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Town work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Parshall (3%, 16 mi), Van Hook Township (3%, 8 mi), Osborn Township (3%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is New Town walkable?
New Town is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Town without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Town, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Town
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.