First Presbyterian Church of Steele · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Work, pay and getting to work in Steele
A typical one-way commute lasts 11 minutes, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. About one in four stay in Steele for work; outside it, Bismarck is the main destination (18%, 40 miles). 15% of workers work from home, where North Dakota as a whole has 8%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Steele: the figures worth knowing
Steele’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Steele is Bismarck, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (39) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Steele are quick
The average trip to work takes 11 minutes, against 18 across North Dakota. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical North Dakota worker. 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; with 218 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The distance from Steele to work
About 28% 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.
How long Steele spends getting to work: about 11 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Steele workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 304 commuters (the 15% 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.
A workday in Steele: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 158 residents head out to work, 60 work right here, and 272 people come in from elsewhere.
About 780 people are in Steele on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip into Steele
Where Steele clocks in
18% of workers
5% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Steele
332 jobs are based in Steele.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Steele, 2013 → 2023: 378 → 332. 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 Steele’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Steele: questions
What is the median household income in Steele?
$65,329 (±$16,810) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Steele?
9.1%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Steele?
11 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Steele work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bismarck (18%, 40 mi), Woodlawn Township (7%, 2 mi), Fargo (5%, 146 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Steele without a car?
0% 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 Steele, from the people who make the trip.
More of Steele
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.