Work & commute · Greenfield

Work & commute in Greenfield, IA

About one in 3 of Greenfield’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Creston (5%), Des Moines (5%) and West Des Moines (3%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35%

309 of 882 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 573 Greenfield residents head out of town to work, 309 work right here, and 1,017 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Greenfield.

573live here, work elsewhere

309live and work here

1,017work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Greenfield goes to work

Greenfield (in town)right here

35%309

Creston17.7 mi away

5%48

Des Moines47.7 mi away

5%47

West Des Moines39 mi away

3%27

Atlantic29.8 mi away

2%16

Winterset23.3 mi away

2%15

Urbandale41.9 mi away

2%14

Ames65.9 mi away

1%13

Fontanelle5.4 mi away

1%9

Stuart15.3 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%375

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

How far

How far Greenfield commutes

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

41%

14%

21%

23%

41%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Greenfield is a job hub

1.50jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Greenfield are

1,326 jobs are based in Greenfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Greenfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Greenfield

1,326 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Greenfield residents hold

882 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−3%

Jobs based in Greenfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,363 → 1,326. 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.