Work & commute · Estherville

Work & commute in Estherville, IA

About one in 3 of Estherville’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Spirit Lake (13%), Milford (4%) and Sioux City (3%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

882 of 2,571 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 1,689 Estherville residents head out of town to work, 882 work right here, and 1,266 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Estherville.

1,689live here, work elsewhere

882live and work here

1,266work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Estherville goes to work

Estherville (in town)right here

34%882

Spirit Lake14 mi away

13%322

Milford16.2 mi away

4%90

Sioux City100.5 mi away

3%88

Jackson, MN17.4 mi away

3%85

Spencer23.7 mi away

2%60

Emmetsburg21.2 mi away

2%57

Sioux Falls, SD95.7 mi away

2%51

Arnolds Park15.1 mi away

1%34

Graettinger12 mi away

1%29

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%873

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

How far

How far Estherville commutes

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

38%

32%

25%

38%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Estherville is balanced between jobs and homes

0.84jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Estherville are

2,148 jobs are based in Estherville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Estherville’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Estherville

2,148 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Estherville residents hold

2,571 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

−20%

Jobs based in Estherville, 2013 → 2023: 2,681 → 2,148. 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.