Work & commute · Center

Work & commute in Center, ND

Most working residents leave Center for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Bismarck (24%), Mandan (7%) and Washburn (5%). Half commute less than 30 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

27 of 204 working residents

Typical commute

30 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 177 Center residents head out of town to work, 27 work right here, and 175 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Center.

177live here, work elsewhere

27live and work here

175work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Center goes to work

Bismarck32.5 mi away

24%49

Center (in town)right here

13%27

Mandan27.6 mi away

7%14

Washburn17.7 mi away

5%11

Hazen19.9 mi away

4%8

Beulah24.6 mi away

3%6

Dickinson72.3 mi away

2%5

Fargo211.3 mi away

2%5

Killdeer70.2 mi away

1%3

Watford City103.5 mi away

1%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%73

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.

19%

18%

45%

19%

19%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

45%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Center is balanced between jobs and homes

0.99jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Center are

202 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

202 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Center residents hold

204 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−27%

Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 277 → 202. 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.