Work & commute · Center

Work & commute in Center, ND

Most working residents leave Center for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Wahpeton (29%), Fargo (15%) and Breckenridge (8%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

6 of 225 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 219 Center residents head out of town to work, 6 work right here, and 399 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Center.

219live here, work elsewhere

6live and work here

399work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Center goes to work

Wahpeton4.2 mi away

29%66

Fargo43.9 mi away

15%33

Breckenridge, MN5.1 mi away

8%17

Hankinson15 mi away

5%12

West Fargo44.3 mi away

4%10

Gwinner46.5 mi away

4%8

Dwight5.7 mi away

3%7

Center (in town)right here

3%6

Dwight5.4 mi away

2%5

Moorhead, MN43.5 mi away

2%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%57

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Center commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

45%

16%

28%

12%

45%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Center is a job hub

1.80jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Center are

405 jobs are based in Center. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Center

405 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)53%

Trade, transport & utilities37%

Services (health, schools, offices…)11%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month75%

Jobs Center residents hold

225 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)44%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month70%

−22%

Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 522 → 405. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.