Work & commute · Carlisle

Work & commute in Carlisle, IA

Most working residents leave Carlisle for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (34%), West Des Moines (11%) and Ankeny (5%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

205 of 2,201 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 1,996 Carlisle residents head out of town to work, 205 work right here, and 1,067 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Carlisle.

1,996live here, work elsewhere

205live and work here

1,067work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Carlisle goes to work

Des Moines7.7 mi away

34%744

West Des Moines15.7 mi away

11%243

Carlisle (in town)right here

9%205

Ankeny16.1 mi away

5%114

Urbandale17.5 mi away

3%73

Altoona9.2 mi away

2%50

Indianola11.5 mi away

2%47

Clive17.8 mi away

2%37

Johnston17.5 mi away

2%37

Ames35.9 mi away

2%36

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%615

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

How far

How far Carlisle commutes

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

40%

43%

10%

40%Under 10 mi

43%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Carlisle is a commuter town

0.58jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Carlisle are

1,272 jobs are based in Carlisle. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Carlisle’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Carlisle

1,272 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Carlisle residents hold

2,201 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+4%

Jobs based in Carlisle, 2013 → 2023: 1,222 → 1,272. 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.