Work & commute · Elkhart

Work & commute in Elkhart, IA

Most working residents leave Elkhart for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (25%), Ankeny (19%) and West Des Moines (7%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 466 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 463 Elkhart residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 179 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elkhart.

463live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

179work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elkhart goes to work

Des Moines16 mi away

25%116

Ankeny5.9 mi away

19%88

West Des Moines21.5 mi away

7%31

Urbandale17.1 mi away

6%28

Ames16.8 mi away

4%20

Bondurant7.6 mi away

4%17

Johnston12.6 mi away

3%16

Altoona10.2 mi away

3%15

Alleman4.8 mi away

2%8

Clive19.1 mi away

2%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%119

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

How far

How far Elkhart commutes

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

32%

56%

10%

32%Under 10 mi

56%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elkhart is a commuter town

0.39jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Elkhart are

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

Jobs based in Elkhart

182 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)61%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)17%

$1,250 a month or less6%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month78%

Jobs Elkhart residents hold

466 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month74%

+528%

Jobs based in Elkhart, 2013 → 2023: 29 → 182. 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.