Work & commute · Goldfield

Work & commute in Goldfield, IA

Most working residents leave Goldfield for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Eagle Grove (11%), Clarion (9%) and Webster City (8%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14 of 264 working residents

Typical commute

16 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 250 Goldfield residents head out of town to work, 14 work right here, and 206 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Goldfield.

250live here, work elsewhere

14live and work here

206work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Goldfield goes to work

Eagle Grove4.9 mi away

11%30

Clarion9.5 mi away

9%25

Webster City19.5 mi away

8%20

Humboldt15.6 mi away

7%18

Goldfield (in town)right here

5%14

Fort Dodge20.4 mi away

5%12

Algona28.4 mi away

3%8

Belmond17.5 mi away

3%7

West Des Moines82.2 mi away

2%4

Ames51.3 mi away

1%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%123

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

How far

How far Goldfield commutes

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

38%

32%

13%

17%

38%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Goldfield is balanced between jobs and homes

0.83jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Goldfield are

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

Jobs based in Goldfield

220 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities58%

Services (health, schools, offices…)25%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month12%

Over $3,333 a month78%

Jobs Goldfield residents hold

264 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month67%

−1%

Jobs based in Goldfield, 2013 → 2023: 222 → 220. 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.