Photo: Ua747sp · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Washburn
A typical one-way commute lasts 19 minutes, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. For jobs and income Washburn is better than 27% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (B−). About one in seven work in Washburn; the top destination outside it is Bismarck (20%, 35 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Washburn apart on work
Washburn’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Washburn is Bismarck, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (101) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Washburn than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Washburn fell from 1,107 in 2013 to 493 in 2023, −55%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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 498 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Washburn’s grade
Household income holds Washburn’s grade up ($73,413, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 10% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (0.5%) is left out: Washburn’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Washburn could be anywhere from D to B.
How many miles Washburn commutes
About 23% 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 kinds of work in Washburn
493 jobs are based in Washburn.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washburn, 2013 → 2023: 1,107 → 493. 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 Washburn’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Washburn, and who commutes in
On a workday 438 residents head out to work, 60 work right here, and 433 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 (0.99 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.
Commuting out of Washburn: the destinations
Where Washburn clocks in
20% of workers
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.
The trip to work from Washburn: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washburn workers work from home, vs 8% across North Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 749 commuters (the 5% 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.
Driving is how Washburn gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.2% across North Dakota.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 790 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). 0.4% of Washburn households have no vehicle (North Dakota 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Washburn’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Washburn ranks: 2,925th of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Reed Township ND | 1,151 | $131K | 0.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 169 | Williston Township ND | 1,116 | $250K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 332 | Sundre Township ND | 1,024 | $107K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,923 | Paris MO | 1,178 | $63K | 8.0% | 3.8% | 14% | C |
| 2,924 | Princeton NC | 1,544 | $46K | 9.7% | 2.7% | 1% | C |
| 2,925 | Washburn ND | 1,254 | $73K | 10.7% | 0.5% | 12% | C |
| 2,926 | Deercreek Township OH | 1,676 | $65K | 12.3% | 2.8% | 2% | C |
| 2,927 | Tiffin Township OH | 1,582 | $77K | 15.6% | 5.9% | 1% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | 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 Washburn, 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 Washburn: questions
What is the median household income in Washburn?
$73,413 (±$18,362) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,657 across North Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washburn?
10.7%, against 10.8% across North Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washburn?
19 minutes each way on average, against 18 across North Dakota and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washburn work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bismarck (20%, 35 mi), Wilton (6%, 15 mi), Underwood (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Washburn walkable?
Washburn is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Washburn 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 Washburn, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washburn
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.