Work & commute · Dubuque

Work & commute in Dubuque, IA

61% of Dubuque’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Cedar Rapids (4%), Davenport (3%) and Peosta (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

61%

17,188 of 28,387 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 11,199 Dubuque residents head out of town to work, 17,188 work right here, and 23,404 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dubuque.

11,199live here, work elsewhere

17,188live and work here

23,404work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dubuque goes to work

Dubuque (in town)right here

61%17,188

Cedar Rapids61.9 mi away

4%1,029

Davenport65.3 mi away

3%897

Peosta7.7 mi away

2%532

Iowa City72 mi away

1%318

Des Moines162.1 mi away

1%259

Coralville71.7 mi away

1%241

Waterloo83.8 mi away

1%238

Asbury3.8 mi away

1%192

Clinton51.2 mi away

1%192

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%7,301

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

How far

How far Dubuque commutes

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

70%

24%

70%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dubuque is balanced between jobs and homes

1.43jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.43 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Dubuque are

40,592 jobs are based in Dubuque. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Dubuque’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Dubuque

40,592 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Dubuque residents hold

28,387 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+1%

Jobs based in Dubuque, 2013 → 2023: 40,199 → 40,592. 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.