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Work & commute in Lacona · A commuter town

99% of Lacona’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Lacona for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (28%), Indianola (13%) and West Des Moines (7%). Half commute less than 31 miles.

Work in town
1%
1 of 165 working residents
Typical commute
31 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
32 min
More than IA (20 min)
Work from home
5%
Less than IA (11%)
Jobs based here
16
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Lacona?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

28% of working residents work in Des Moines

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

LaconaDunlapChariton: 3 residents work here (2%)Osceola: 3 residents work here (2%)KeokukIndianola: 22 residents work here (13%)NewtonUrbandale: 6 residents work here (4%)Waukee: 5 residents work here (3%)Ames: 5 residents work here (3%)Ankeny: 5 residents work here (3%)Des Moines: 46 residents work here (28%)West Des Moines: 12 residents work here (7%)Waterloo: 4 residents work here (2%)Des MoinesIndianolaWest Des MoinesUrbandaleWaukeeAmesLacona
1
Des Moines28.9 mi away
28%46
2
Indianola15.2 mi away
13%22
3
West Des Moines32.3 mi away
7%12
4
Urbandale37 mi away
4%6
5
Waukee37.8 mi away
3%5
6
Ames59.1 mi away
3%5
7
Ankeny39 mi away
3%5
8
Waterloo104.5 mi away
2%4
9
Chariton12.6 mi away
2%3
10
Osceola23.5 mi away
2%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
33%54
The top trips

Where Lacona clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 32 minutes each way, longer than most of Iowa

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
246 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Lacona32 min
Iowa20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
5%

of Lacona workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Day and night

Lacona quiets down on a workday

On a workday 164 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 15 people come in from elsewhere.

164live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
15work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night350
Workday210
350live here− 160head out to work+ 15come in to work= 210on a workday

About 210 people are in Lacona on a workday afternoon, 42% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.10jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Lacona commutes less than 31 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miDes Moines: 28% · 28.9 miIndianola: 13% · 15.2 miWest Des Moines: 7% · 32.3 miUrbandale: 4% · 37 miWaukee: 3% · 37.8 miAmes: 3% · 59.1 miAnkeny: 3% · 39 miWaterloo: 2% · 104.5 miChariton: 2% · 12.6 miOsceola: 2% · 23.5 miDes Moines 28%Indianola 13%Urbandale 4%Waukee 3%Lacona
LaconaTop destinations (size = commuters)
4%Under 10 mi7 residents
22%10–24 mi37 residents
62%25–50 mi102 residents
12%Over 50 mi19 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

What the 16 jobs in Lacona are

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

Jobs based in LaconaJobs Lacona residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%30%
Trade, transport & utilities44%15%
Services: health, schools, offices56%55%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less31%8%
$1,251–$3,333 a month38%18%
Over $3,333 a month31%75%

Who does it

29 or younger19%23%
30 to 5444%48%
55 and older38%29%
−89%

Jobs based in Lacona, 2013 → 2023: 141 → 16. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Lacona

Lacona home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Lacona, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Lacona worth it?

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Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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