Work & commute · Pella

Work & commute in Pella, IA

41% of Pella’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (5%), Oskaloosa (3%) and Knoxville (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

41%

1,930 of 4,764 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 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 2,834 Pella residents head out of town to work, 1,930 work right here, and 4,714 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Pella.

2,834live here, work elsewhere

1,930live and work here

4,714work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Pella goes to work

Pella (in town)right here

41%1,930

Des Moines37.7 mi away

5%250

Oskaloosa16.3 mi away

3%132

Knoxville11.3 mi away

3%124

West Des Moines45.8 mi away

2%102

Newton21.1 mi away

2%77

Ankeny41.9 mi away

1%67

Cedar Rapids74.7 mi away

1%55

Ames56.2 mi away

1%51

Urbandale47.4 mi away

1%41

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%1,935

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

How far

How far Pella commutes

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

54%

17%

12%

54%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Pella is balanced between jobs and homes

1.39jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Pella are

6,644 jobs are based in Pella. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pella’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Pella

6,644 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Pella residents hold

4,764 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−3%

Jobs based in Pella, 2013 → 2023: 6,849 → 6,644. 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.