Work & commute · Central

Work & commute in Central, IA

Most working residents leave Central for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Cedar Rapids (42%), Marion (7%) and Hiawatha (7%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15 of 574 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 559 Central residents head out of town to work, 15 work right here, and 191 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Central.

559live here, work elsewhere

15live and work here

191work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Central goes to work

Cedar Rapids18.2 mi away

42%243

Marion11.3 mi away

7%40

Hiawatha13.2 mi away

7%39

Alburnett6.2 mi away

5%27

Iowa City37.7 mi away

4%21

Central City (in town)right here

3%15

Coralville34.9 mi away

2%12

Davenport65 mi away

2%11

Center Point13.2 mi away

1%7

Des Moines115.8 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%152

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

How far

How far Central commutes

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

10%

64%

11%

15%

10%Under 10 mi

64%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Central is a commuter town

0.36jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Central are

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

Jobs based in Central

206 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less27%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Central residents hold

574 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month65%

−23%

Jobs based in Central, 2013 → 2023: 267 → 206. 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.