Work & commute · Ankeny

Work & commute in Ankeny, IA

About one in 5 of Ankeny’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (26%), West Des Moines (11%) and Urbandale (5%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

7,450 of 33,327 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 25,877 Ankeny residents head out of town to work, 7,450 work right here, and 25,384 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ankeny.

25,877live here, work elsewhere

7,450live and work here

25,384work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ankeny goes to work

Des Moines11 mi away

26%8,570

Ankeny (in town)right here

22%7,450

West Des Moines15.6 mi away

11%3,609

Urbandale11.3 mi away

5%1,810

Ames20.4 mi away

4%1,218

Johnston6.9 mi away

3%1,166

Altoona8.4 mi away

2%700

Clive13.2 mi away

2%629

Bondurant8.2 mi away

2%559

Grimes11 mi away

1%396

Everywhere elseother towns and states

22%7,220

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

How far

How far Ankeny commutes

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

49%

38%

49%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ankeny 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 Ankeny are

32,834 jobs are based in Ankeny. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ankeny’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ankeny

32,834 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Ankeny residents hold

33,327 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+55%

Jobs based in Ankeny, 2013 → 2023: 21,227 → 32,834. 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.