Work & commute · Kanawha

Work & commute in Kanawha, IA

Most working residents leave Kanawha for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Britt (9%), Garner (7%) and Algona (7%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16 of 303 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 287 Kanawha residents head out of town to work, 16 work right here, and 213 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kanawha.

287live here, work elsewhere

16live and work here

213work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kanawha goes to work

Britt11.4 mi away

9%28

Garner14.9 mi away

7%20

Algona24.3 mi away

7%20

Forest City23.7 mi away

6%18

Kanawha (in town)right here

5%16

Mason City33.4 mi away

5%14

Clear Lake25.3 mi away

3%9

Cedar Rapids126.9 mi away

3%8

Des Moines94.5 mi away

3%8

Clarion14.3 mi away

2%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%155

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

How far

How far Kanawha commutes

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

14%

45%

18%

23%

14%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kanawha is balanced between jobs and homes

0.76jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.76 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Kanawha are

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

Jobs based in Kanawha

229 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)41%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)41%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Kanawha residents hold

303 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−6%

Jobs based in Kanawha, 2013 → 2023: 243 → 229. 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.