Work & commute · Panama

Work & commute in Panama, IA

Most working residents leave Panama for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Harlan (28%), Shelby (8%) and Council Bluffs (8%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 100 working residents

Typical commute

16 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 97 Panama residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 216 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Panama.

97live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

216work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Panama goes to work

Harlan9.3 mi away

28%28

Shelby15.3 mi away

8%8

Council Bluffs39.1 mi away

8%8

Denison21 mi away

5%5

Omaha, NE43.8 mi away

5%5

Panama (in town)right here

3%3

Avoca18.3 mi away

3%3

Logan17.2 mi away

2%2

Atlantic32.9 mi away

2%2

Sioux City70.8 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%34

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

How far

How far Panama commutes

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

38%

28%

18%

16%

38%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Panama is a job hub

2.19jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Panama are

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

Jobs based in Panama

219 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities83%

Services (health, schools, offices…)11%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month77%

Jobs Panama residents hold

100 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities29%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+434%

Jobs based in Panama, 2013 → 2023: 41 → 219. 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.