Work & commute · Emerson

Work & commute in Emerson, IA

Most working residents leave Emerson for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Omaha (18%), Council Bluffs (13%) and Glenwood (11%). Half commute less than 29 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 157 working residents

Typical commute

29 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 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 155 Emerson residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 42 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Emerson.

155live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

42work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Emerson goes to work

Omaha, NE37.8 mi away

18%28

Council Bluffs27.9 mi away

13%21

Glenwood17.7 mi away

11%17

Red Oak9.3 mi away

6%10

Bellevue, NE29.2 mi away

3%4

Malvern9.5 mi away

2%3

Shenandoah18 mi away

2%3

Emerson (in town)right here

1%2

Oakland20.4 mi away

1%2

Ottumwa155.3 mi away

1%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%65

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

How far

How far Emerson commutes

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

16%

21%

43%

20%

16%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

43%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Emerson is a commuter town

0.28jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Emerson are

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

Jobs based in Emerson

44 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities5%

Services (health, schools, offices…)89%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Emerson residents hold

157 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month67%

−31%

Jobs based in Emerson, 2013 → 2023: 64 → 44. 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.