Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0Jobs and the daily commute in South Heart
A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes, where North Dakota has 18 and the U.S. 26. Only 4% work in South Heart; the top destination outside it is Dickinson (22%, 9 miles). 1% of workers work from home; North Dakota has 8%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of South Heart, and who commutes in
On a workday 188 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 116 people come in from elsewhere.
About 350 people are in South Heart on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.63 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 2024, primary jobs.
Out of South Heart to work: where people go
Where South Heart clocks in
22% of workers
19% of workers
10% 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 South Heart are in services
123 jobs are based in South Heart.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Heart, 2014 → 2024: 150 → 123. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Heart’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long South Heart spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Heart workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 306 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 distance from South Heart to work
About 30% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 South Heart: questions
What is the median household income in South Heart?
$142,564 (±$20,943) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Heart?
2.2%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Heart?
22 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 South Heart work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dickinson (22%, 9 mi), Belfield (19%, 10 mi), Bismarck (10%, 105 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around South Heart without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Heart, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Heart
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.