Work & commute · Ellsworth

Work & commute in Ellsworth, IA

Most working residents leave Ellsworth for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Ames (22%), Story City (9%) and Webster City (7%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

6 of 201 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 195 Ellsworth residents head out of town to work, 6 work right here, and 203 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ellsworth.

195live here, work elsewhere

6live and work here

203work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ellsworth goes to work

Ames19.7 mi away

22%44

Story City8.6 mi away

9%19

Webster City16 mi away

7%15

Jewell Junction2.9 mi away

7%14

Ellsworth (in town)right here

3%6

Des Moines51 mi away

2%5

Iowa Falls21.6 mi away

2%4

Fort Dodge33.3 mi away

2%4

Sioux City143.8 mi away

2%4

Jefferson45.6 mi away

1%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%83

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

How far

How far Ellsworth commutes

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

32%

38%

12%

19%

32%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ellsworth is balanced between jobs and homes

1.04jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ellsworth are

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

Jobs based in Ellsworth

209 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities67%

Services (health, schools, offices…)33%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Ellsworth residents hold

201 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+82%

Jobs based in Ellsworth, 2013 → 2023: 115 → 209. 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.