Work & commute · Fort Madison

Work & commute in Fort Madison, IA

About one in 3 of Fort Madison’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Burlington (10%), West Burlington (6%) and Keokuk (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

37%

1,514 of 4,067 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 2,553 Fort Madison residents head out of town to work, 1,514 work right here, and 3,690 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fort Madison.

2,553live here, work elsewhere

1,514live and work here

3,690work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fort Madison goes to work

Fort Madison (in town)right here

37%1,514

Burlington17.3 mi away

10%413

West Burlington16.5 mi away

6%237

Keokuk14.9 mi away

4%168

Mount Pleasant25.8 mi away

2%99

Cedar Rapids94.4 mi away

2%87

Muscatine57 mi away

2%69

Davenport75.3 mi away

2%66

Des Moines135 mi away

1%54

Iowa City72.1 mi away

1%45

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%1,315

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

How far

How far Fort Madison commutes

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

46%

24%

25%

46%Under 10 mi

24%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fort Madison is balanced between jobs and homes

1.28jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Fort Madison are

5,204 jobs are based in Fort Madison. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fort Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Fort Madison

5,204 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Fort Madison residents hold

4,067 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+2%

Jobs based in Fort Madison, 2013 → 2023: 5,084 → 5,204. 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.