Work, pay and getting to work in Northwood
1% of workers work from home; North Dakota has 8%. About one in three work in Northwood; the top destination outside it is Grand Forks (22%, 26 miles). Working residents average 14 minutes each way, next to 18 for North Dakota and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Northwood and work: the main findings
Northwood’s commute, mile by mile
About 20% 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.
Who leaves Northwood for work, and who comes in
On a workday 231 residents head out to work, 119 work right here, and 266 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 (1.10 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 Northwood goes to work
Where Northwood clocks in
22% of workers
7% 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.
The 385 jobs based in Northwood
385 jobs are based in Northwood.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northwood, 2013 → 2023: 433 → 385. 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 Northwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Northwood, about 14 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northwood workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 420 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.
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 Northwood: questions
What is the median household income in Northwood?
$78,571 (±$35,423) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northwood?
4.7%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northwood?
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 Northwood work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Forks (22%, 26 mi), Fargo (7%, 69 mi), East Grand Forks (3%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Northwood without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northwood
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.