Work & commute · Cambridge

Work & commute in Cambridge, IA

Most working residents leave Cambridge for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Ames (25%), Des Moines (14%) and Ankeny (10%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

8 of 439 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 431 Cambridge residents head out of town to work, 8 work right here, and 125 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Cambridge.

431live here, work elsewhere

8live and work here

125work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Cambridge goes to work

Ames9.6 mi away

25%110

Des Moines23.1 mi away

14%62

Ankeny12.2 mi away

10%43

Huxley2.9 mi away

7%29

West Des Moines27.4 mi away

4%16

Nevada8.8 mi away

3%12

Slater8.1 mi away

3%11

Urbandale22.2 mi away

2%10

Johnston17.4 mi away

2%9

Cambridge (in town)right here

2%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%129

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

How far

How far Cambridge commutes

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

30%

52%

30%Under 10 mi

52%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Cambridge is a commuter town

0.30jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.30 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Cambridge are

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

Jobs based in Cambridge

133 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)41%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs Cambridge residents hold

439 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+39%

Jobs based in Cambridge, 2013 → 2023: 96 → 133. 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.