Work & commute · Kelley

Work & commute in Kelley, IA

Most working residents leave Kelley for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Ames (25%), Des Moines (14%) and Huxley (10%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 178 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 177 Kelley residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 91 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kelley.

177live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

91work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kelley goes to work

Ames5.7 mi away

25%45

Des Moines26.3 mi away

14%25

Huxley5.3 mi away

10%17

Ankeny15.5 mi away

9%16

West Des Moines28.3 mi away

6%11

Slater5 mi away

4%8

Urbandale22.5 mi away

4%7

Johnston18.1 mi away

3%6

Story City16.7 mi away

2%3

Norwalk32.1 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

21%37

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

How far

How far Kelley commutes

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

43%

30%

21%

43%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kelley is a commuter town

0.52jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Kelley are

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

Jobs based in Kelley

92 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Kelley residents hold

178 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+268%

Jobs based in Kelley, 2013 → 2023: 25 → 92. 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.