Work means Minot for more than half of Surrey’s working residents
Only 1% stay in Surrey for work; outside it, Minot is the main destination (58%, 7 miles). For jobs and income Surrey is better than 82% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (D). Household incomes here are higher than in 81% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Surrey stands out on work
Surrey is a place people come home to
There are 136 jobs based in Surrey, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Surrey has about 960 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Most Surrey residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. 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 629 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Surrey’s Jobs & income grade comes from
The poverty rate holds Surrey’s grade up (1.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 36% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (3.4%) is left out: Surrey’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Surrey could be anywhere from A− to A.
Commuting out of Surrey: the destinations
Where Surrey clocks in
6% 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.
Who leaves Surrey for work, and who comes in
On a workday 621 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 128 people come in from elsewhere.
About 960 people are in Surrey on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
0.22 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 2023, primary jobs.
Surrey’s commute, mile by mile
About 25% 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.
Most jobs in Surrey are in services
136 jobs are based in Surrey.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Surrey, 2013 → 2023: 176 → 136. 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 Surrey’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Surrey: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Surrey workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 771 commuters (the 3% 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.
In Surrey, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 795 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). 0.0% of Surrey households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Surrey’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 6,308 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 2,000, Surrey comes 548th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Reed Township ND | 1,151 | $131K | 0.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 237 | Williston Township ND | 1,116 | $250K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 455 | Sundre Township ND | 1,024 | $107K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 546 | Wolf Creek UT | 1,339 | $131K | 1.3% | 0.0% | 4% | A− |
| 547 | Altamont NY | 1,648 | $112K | 6.4% | 0.8% | 3% | A− |
| 548 | Surrey ND | 1,450 | $106K | 1.4% | 3.4% | 1% | A− |
| 549 | Lindsay TX | 1,261 | $115K | 2.8% | 0.5% | 3% | A− |
| 550 | Washington Township IN | 1,227 | $105K | 0.0% | 0.0% | <1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,308 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Surrey, the top three, the last and three more from North Dakota.
How Surrey compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Nedrose Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Surrey workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surrey | – | A− | D | 20 min | $106,438 |
| Surrey Township | under 1% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Nedrose Township | 3% | B+ | C− | 18 min | $123,967 |
Same-state neighbors only. Surrey Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Surrey’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 Surrey: questions
What is the median household income in Surrey?
$106,438 (±$10,805) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Surrey?
1.4%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Surrey?
20 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Surrey work?
1% work in town.
Is Surrey walkable?
Surrey is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Surrey 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 Surrey, from the people who make the trip.
More of Surrey
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.