Work & commute · Northwood

Work & commute in Northwood, IA

About one in 3 of Northwood’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Mason City (11%), Albert Lea (4%) and Lake Mills (3%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

32%

299 of 944 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 645 Northwood residents head out of town to work, 299 work right here, and 736 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Northwood.

645live here, work elsewhere

299live and work here

736work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Northwood goes to work

Northwood (in town)right here

32%299

Mason City20.5 mi away

11%102

Albert Lea, MN16.3 mi away

4%42

Lake Mills15.9 mi away

3%30

Des Moines130.9 mi away

3%26

Clear Lake22.8 mi away

3%25

Osage23.2 mi away

2%15

Austin, MN19.8 mi away

2%15

St. Ansgar15.6 mi away

1%14

Forest City24.8 mi away

1%13

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%363

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

How far

How far Northwood commutes

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

39%

30%

25%

39%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Northwood is balanced between jobs and homes

1.10jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.10 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Northwood are

1,035 jobs are based in Northwood. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Northwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Northwood

1,035 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)48%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)40%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Northwood residents hold

944 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−21%

Jobs based in Northwood, 2013 → 2023: 1,315 → 1,035. 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.