Work & commute · Murray

Work & commute in Murray, IA

Most working residents leave Murray for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Osceola (31%), Des Moines (10%) and West Des Moines (6%). Half commute less than 34 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 293 working residents

Typical commute

34 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 289 Murray residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 117 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Murray.

289live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

117work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Murray goes to work

Osceola8.5 mi away

31%92

Des Moines40.7 mi away

10%29

West Des Moines36.2 mi away

6%19

Creston21.7 mi away

5%14

Ames70.1 mi away

2%7

Ankeny51 mi away

2%7

Urbandale42.1 mi away

2%6

Murray (in town)right here

1%4

Winterset21.2 mi away

1%4

Marshalltown87.3 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%107

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

How far

How far Murray commutes

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

33%

12%

34%

21%

33%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

34%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Murray is a commuter town

0.41jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Murray are

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

Jobs based in Murray

121 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Murray residents hold

293 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+14%

Jobs based in Murray, 2013 → 2023: 106 → 121. 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.