Work & commute · Ottumwa

Work & commute in Ottumwa, IA

49% of Ottumwa’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (3%), Oskaloosa (3%) and Fairfield (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

49%

5,413 of 10,964 working residents

Typical commute

5 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 5,551 Ottumwa residents head out of town to work, 5,413 work right here, and 6,905 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ottumwa.

5,551live here, work elsewhere

5,413live and work here

6,905work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ottumwa goes to work

Ottumwa (in town)right here

49%5,413

Des Moines72.4 mi away

3%343

Oskaloosa21.8 mi away

3%299

Fairfield23.8 mi away

2%212

Marshalltown74.3 mi away

2%206

West Des Moines79.4 mi away

2%179

Ankeny78.3 mi away

1%150

Iowa City63.7 mi away

1%130

Albia19.8 mi away

1%121

Cedar Rapids75.6 mi away

1%114

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%3,797

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

How far

How far Ottumwa commutes

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

52%

10%

29%

52%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ottumwa is balanced between jobs and homes

1.12jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.12 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ottumwa are

12,318 jobs are based in Ottumwa. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ottumwa’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ottumwa

12,318 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Ottumwa residents hold

10,964 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)34%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−6%

Jobs based in Ottumwa, 2013 → 2023: 13,164 → 12,318. 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.