Work & commute · Parkersburg

Work & commute in Parkersburg, IA

Most working residents leave Parkersburg for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Waterloo (18%), Cedar Falls (11%) and Aplington (5%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

88 of 860 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 772 Parkersburg residents head out of town to work, 88 work right here, and 332 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Parkersburg.

772live here, work elsewhere

88live and work here

332work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Parkersburg goes to work

Waterloo22.4 mi away

18%151

Cedar Falls16.9 mi away

11%98

Parkersburg (in town)right here

10%88

Aplington5.4 mi away

5%47

Waverly18.7 mi away

4%34

Grundy Center14.5 mi away

3%22

Cedar Rapids70.2 mi away

2%20

Iowa Falls25.2 mi away

2%19

Des Moines81.3 mi away

2%13

Allison12.3 mi away

1%12

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%356

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

How far

How far Parkersburg commutes

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

22%

47%

10%

21%

22%Under 10 mi

47%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Parkersburg is a commuter town

0.49jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.49 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Parkersburg are

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

Jobs based in Parkersburg

420 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less28%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month38%

Jobs Parkersburg residents hold

860 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+3%

Jobs based in Parkersburg, 2013 → 2023: 408 → 420. 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.