Work & commute · Menlo

Work & commute in Menlo, IA

Most working residents leave Menlo for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Guthrie Center (19%), Stuart (6%) and Adair (5%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 124 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 122 Menlo residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 46 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Menlo.

122live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

46work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Menlo goes to work

Guthrie Center11.8 mi away

19%23

Stuart4.7 mi away

6%8

Adair12.5 mi away

5%6

West Des Moines32.2 mi away

4%5

Greenfield15.2 mi away

3%4

Adel21.1 mi away

3%4

Carroll44.7 mi away

3%4

Waukee27.3 mi away

2%3

Johnston37 mi away

2%3

Sioux City122.1 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%61

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

How far

How far Menlo commutes

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

15%

40%

26%

19%

15%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

26%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Menlo is a commuter town

0.39jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Menlo are

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

Jobs based in Menlo

48 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)50%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less38%

$1,251–$3,333 a month8%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Menlo residents hold

124 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+85%

Jobs based in Menlo, 2013 → 2023: 26 → 48. 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.