Work & commute · Dexter

Work & commute in Dexter, IA

Most working residents leave Dexter for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (19%), West Des Moines (16%) and Adel (7%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 318 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 314 Dexter residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 100 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dexter.

314live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

100work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dexter goes to work

Des Moines32.2 mi away

19%59

West Des Moines23.2 mi away

16%50

Adel12.9 mi away

7%22

Urbandale24.6 mi away

5%16

Johnston28.7 mi away

3%10

Clive23.1 mi away

3%9

Waukee18.6 mi away

3%9

Ankeny35.6 mi away

3%9

Guthrie Center18 mi away

3%8

Stuart4.8 mi away

2%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%119

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

How far

How far Dexter commutes

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

36%

44%

12%

8%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

44%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dexter is a commuter town

0.33jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Dexter are

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

Jobs based in Dexter

104 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities53%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Dexter residents hold

318 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month74%

+58%

Jobs based in Dexter, 2013 → 2023: 66 → 104. 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.