Work & commute · Cresco

Work & commute in Cresco, IA

44% of Cresco’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Decorah (7%), Cedar Rapids (2%) and Lime Springs (2%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

44%

826 of 1,857 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 1,031 Cresco residents head out of town to work, 826 work right here, and 1,415 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Cresco.

1,031live here, work elsewhere

826live and work here

1,415work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Cresco goes to work

Cresco (in town)right here

44%826

Decorah17.4 mi away

7%132

Cedar Rapids99.8 mi away

2%45

Lime Springs10 mi away

2%43

Waterloo61.9 mi away

2%37

New Hampton24 mi away

2%31

Dubuque93.4 mi away

1%26

Cedar Falls61.3 mi away

1%21

Des Moines145.8 mi away

1%20

Waukon32.8 mi away

1%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%657

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

How far

How far Cresco commutes

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

50%

19%

24%

50%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Cresco is balanced between jobs and homes

1.21jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.21 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Cresco are

2,241 jobs are based in Cresco. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Cresco’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Cresco

2,241 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Cresco residents hold

1,857 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−9%

Jobs based in Cresco, 2013 → 2023: 2,475 → 2,241. 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.