Work & commute · Osage

Work & commute in Osage, IA

48% of Osage’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Mason City (6%), St. Ansgar (3%) and Charles City (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

48%

786 of 1,654 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 868 Osage residents head out of town to work, 786 work right here, and 1,227 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Osage.

868live here, work elsewhere

786live and work here

1,227work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Osage goes to work

Osage (in town)right here

48%786

Mason City21.7 mi away

6%102

St. Ansgar8.6 mi away

3%51

Charles City16.8 mi away

3%45

Des Moines125 mi away

2%27

Forest City41.6 mi away

1%23

New Hampton29.5 mi away

1%17

Cedar Falls55.8 mi away

1%17

Riceville14.1 mi away

1%16

Austin, MN28.2 mi away

1%16

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%554

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

How far

How far Osage commutes

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

54%

16%

22%

54%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Osage is balanced between jobs and homes

1.22jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Osage are

2,013 jobs are based in Osage. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Osage’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Osage

2,013 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Osage residents hold

1,654 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+10%

Jobs based in Osage, 2013 → 2023: 1,833 → 2,013. 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.