Work & commute · Elkader

Work & commute in Elkader, IA

About one in 4 of Elkader’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Prairie du Chien (5%), Guttenberg (4%) and Manchester (3%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

129 of 491 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 362 Elkader residents head out of town to work, 129 work right here, and 1,011 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elkader.

362live here, work elsewhere

129live and work here

1,011work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elkader goes to work

Elkader (in town)right here

26%129

Prairie du Chien, WI18.6 mi away

5%23

Guttenberg15.6 mi away

4%21

Manchester25.8 mi away

3%16

Garnavillo8.5 mi away

3%13

Postville17.8 mi away

2%12

Dubuque43.1 mi away

2%12

Clayton13.2 mi away

2%11

West Union21.9 mi away

2%9

Garber10.6 mi away

2%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%237

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

How far

How far Elkader commutes

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

38%

30%

13%

20%

38%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elkader is a job hub

2.32jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Elkader are

1,140 jobs are based in Elkader. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elkader’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Elkader

1,140 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Elkader residents hold

491 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month57%

−1%

Jobs based in Elkader, 2013 → 2023: 1,154 → 1,140. 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.