Work & commute · Fertile

Work & commute in Fertile, IA

Most working residents leave Fertile for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Mason City (17%), Lake Mills (9%) and Forest City (9%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 143 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

27 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 142 Fertile residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 27 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fertile.

142live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

27work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fertile goes to work

Mason City13.7 mi away

17%24

Lake Mills12 mi away

9%13

Forest City10.7 mi away

9%13

Northwood16.3 mi away

6%8

Clear Lake9.1 mi away

5%7

Albert Lea, MN27.2 mi away

5%7

Fort Dodge64.5 mi away

2%3

Buffalo Center27.6 mi away

1%2

Leland11.6 mi away

1%2

Garner14.4 mi away

1%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%62

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

How far

How far Fertile commutes

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

53%

13%

24%

9%Under 10 mi

53%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fertile is a commuter town

0.20jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Fertile are

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

Jobs based in Fertile

28 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)61%

Trade, transport & utilities4%

Services (health, schools, offices…)36%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Fertile residents hold

143 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−47%

Jobs based in Fertile, 2013 → 2023: 53 → 28. 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.