Work & commute · Colo

Work & commute in Colo, IA

Most working residents leave Colo for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Ames (22%), Des Moines (11%) and Nevada (8%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

7 of 413 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 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 406 Colo residents head out of town to work, 7 work right here, and 114 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Colo.

406live here, work elsewhere

7live and work here

114work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Colo goes to work

Ames15.6 mi away

22%92

Des Moines34 mi away

11%44

Nevada7.7 mi away

8%32

Ankeny24.4 mi away

7%30

Urbandale35.3 mi away

3%13

West Des Moines40 mi away

3%11

Maxwell9.4 mi away

2%10

Colo (in town)right here

2%7

Clive37.3 mi away

1%6

Altoona26.5 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%162

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

How far

How far Colo commutes

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

17%

35%

34%

13%

17%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

34%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Colo is a commuter town

0.29jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Colo are

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

Jobs based in Colo

121 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less29%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Colo residents hold

413 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month68%

+14%

Jobs based in Colo, 2013 → 2023: 106 → 121. 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.