Work & commute · Paton

Work & commute in Paton, IA

Most working residents leave Paton for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Jefferson (30%), Boone (7%) and Grand Junction (6%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 88 working residents

Typical commute

20 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 84 Paton residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 205 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Paton.

84live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

205work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Paton goes to work

Jefferson12 mi away

30%26

Boone21.2 mi away

7%6

Grand Junction9.1 mi away

6%5

Paton (in town)right here

5%4

Fort Dodge24.2 mi away

5%4

Perry24 mi away

3%3

Woodward27.5 mi away

2%2

Adel40.3 mi away

2%2

Carroll31.9 mi away

2%2

Urbandale43.9 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%32

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

How far

How far Paton commutes

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

13%

49%

22%

17%

13%Under 10 mi

49%10–24 mi

22%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Paton is a job hub

2.38jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Paton are

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

Jobs based in Paton

209 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)72%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)22%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Paton residents hold

88 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+12%

Jobs based in Paton, 2013 → 2023: 187 → 209. 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.