Work & commute · Burlington

Work & commute in Burlington, IA

40% of Burlington’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are West Burlington (16%), Fort Madison (4%) and Mount Pleasant (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

40%

4,332 of 10,863 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 6,531 Burlington residents head out of town to work, 4,332 work right here, and 5,895 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Burlington.

6,531live here, work elsewhere

4,332live and work here

5,895work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Burlington goes to work

Burlington (in town)right here

40%4,332

West Burlington2.9 mi away

16%1,702

Fort Madison17.3 mi away

4%383

Mount Pleasant24.6 mi away

3%360

Davenport58.4 mi away

2%265

Middletown7.4 mi away

2%215

Iowa City62.3 mi away

2%189

Cedar Rapids85 mi away

2%186

Muscatine42.4 mi away

1%151

Mediapolis14 mi away

1%129

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%2,951

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

How far

How far Burlington commutes

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

60%

23%

60%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Burlington is balanced between jobs and homes

0.94jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Burlington are

10,227 jobs are based in Burlington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Burlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Burlington

10,227 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Burlington residents hold

10,863 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−17%

Jobs based in Burlington, 2013 → 2023: 12,285 → 10,227. 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.