Work & commute · West Fargo

Work & commute in West Fargo, ND

Most working residents leave West Fargo for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Fargo (64%), Moorhead (4%) and Bismarck (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

4,009 of 21,738 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 17,729 West Fargo residents head out of town to work, 4,009 work right here, and 13,142 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Fargo.

17,729live here, work elsewhere

4,009live and work here

13,142work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Fargo goes to work

Fargo3.6 mi away

64%13,805

West Fargo (in town)right here

18%4,009

Moorhead, MN7.6 mi away

4%890

Bismarck182.6 mi away

2%337

Grand Forks73.8 mi away

1%315

Reed6.1 mi away

1%166

Mapleton7.3 mi away

1%138

Minot225 mi away

0%95

Horace7.1 mi away

0%94

Stanley8.2 mi away

0%89

Everywhere elseother towns and states

8%1,800

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

How far

How far West Fargo commutes

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

89%

89%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Fargo is balanced between jobs and homes

0.79jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Fargo are

17,151 jobs are based in West Fargo. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Fargo’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Fargo

17,151 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs West Fargo residents hold

21,738 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month70%

+61%

Jobs based in West Fargo, 2013 → 2023: 10,636 → 17,151. 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.