Work & commute · Denison

Work & commute in Denison, IA

53% of Denison’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Sioux City (3%), Carroll (2%) and Omaha (2%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

53%

1,935 of 3,653 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 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 1,718 Denison residents head out of town to work, 1,935 work right here, and 3,041 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Denison.

1,718live here, work elsewhere

1,935live and work here

3,041work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Denison goes to work

Denison (in town)right here

53%1,935

Sioux City62.5 mi away

3%100

Carroll25.3 mi away

2%73

Omaha, NE63.4 mi away

2%68

Ida Grove23.5 mi away

2%64

Des Moines94.8 mi away

2%62

West Des Moines87.1 mi away

1%48

Council Bluffs59.8 mi away

1%40

Harlan25.3 mi away

1%34

Storm Lake44.1 mi away

1%31

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%1,198

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

How far

How far Denison commutes

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

57%

29%

57%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Denison is balanced between jobs and homes

1.36jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Denison are

4,976 jobs are based in Denison. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Denison’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Denison

4,976 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)38%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Denison residents hold

3,653 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)46%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)38%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month62%

−5%

Jobs based in Denison, 2013 → 2023: 5,232 → 4,976. 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.