Work & commute · Palmer

Work & commute in Palmer, IA

Most working residents leave Palmer for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Pocahontas (23%), Laurens (8%) and Gilmore City (8%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 40 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 38 Palmer residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 46 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Palmer.

38live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

46work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Palmer goes to work

Pocahontas8.1 mi away

23%9

Laurens19.6 mi away

8%3

Gilmore City10.6 mi away

8%3

Palmer (in town)right here

5%2

Fonda13 mi away

5%2

Humboldt20 mi away

5%2

Storm Lake30.4 mi away

5%2

Fort Dodge23.1 mi away

5%2

Newell20.7 mi away

3%1

Holstein49.1 mi away

3%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%13

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

How far

How far Palmer commutes

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

33%

40%

20%

33%Under 10 mi

40%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Palmer is balanced between jobs and homes

1.20jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Palmer are

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

Jobs based in Palmer

48 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities88%

Services (health, schools, offices…)13%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month6%

Over $3,333 a month85%

Jobs Palmer residents hold

40 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month45%

+14%

Jobs based in Palmer, 2013 → 2023: 42 → 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.