Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0At 1.7%, unemployment in Oakes is lower than in 88% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in Oakes for work; outside it, Gwinner is the main destination (11%, 22 miles). The two grades for Oakes are C+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 14 minutes (North Dakota 18, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Oakes at work: what stands out
Most jobs in Oakes go to people who live here
Of the 641 jobs based in Oakes, 48% are held by Oakes residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 849 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Oakes
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oakes is better than 39% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Oakes’ grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 5% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oakes could be anywhere from D to B.
Who works in Oakes, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 543 residents head out to work, 306 work right here, and 335 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Oakes on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 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.
Miles to work from Oakes
About 34% 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.
The towns that employ Oakes’ residents
Where Oakes clocks in
8% 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.
Inside Oakes’ 641 jobs
641 jobs are based in Oakes.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oakes, 2013 → 2023: 695 → 641. 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 Oakes’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Oakes: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oakes workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 906 commuters (the 9% 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.
Oakes is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oakes is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Oakes near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 995 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). 1.6% of Oakes households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oakes’ commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400, Oakes ranks 3,005th of 6,085 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 583 | Mapleton ND | 1,496 | $119K | 1.9% | 0.8% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 623 | Surrey ND | 1,450 | $106K | 1.4% | 3.4% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 751 | Harrison Township ND | 1,734 | $122K | 5.1% | 5.2% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,003 | Midway FL | 1,407 | $61K | 17.2% | 5.4% | <1% | C+ |
| 3,004 | Albion NE | 1,735 | $74K | 6.8% | 1.5% | 42% | C+ |
| 3,005 | Oakes ND | 1,765 | $68K | 12.1% | 1.7% | 36% | C+ |
| 3,006 | Pine Island TX | 1,271 | $55K | 12.9% | 5.4% | 2% | C+ |
| 3,007 | Panguitch UT | 1,779 | $77K | 5.9% | 8.1% | 36% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Oakes, 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 Oakes: questions
What is the median household income in Oakes?
$67,632 (±$19,755) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oakes?
12.1%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oakes?
14 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oakes work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gwinner (11%, 22 mi), Fargo (8%, 78 mi), Bear Creek Township (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oakes walkable?
Oakes is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oakes without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oakes, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oakes
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.