Work & commute · Perry

Work & commute in Perry, IA

About one in 4 of Perry’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (8%), West Des Moines (6%) and Urbandale (4%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23%

720 of 3,068 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 2,348 Perry residents head out of town to work, 720 work right here, and 1,140 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Perry.

2,348live here, work elsewhere

720live and work here

1,140work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Perry goes to work

Perry (in town)right here

23%720

Des Moines30.9 mi away

8%242

West Des Moines25.6 mi away

6%174

Urbandale21.3 mi away

4%124

Ankeny26.4 mi away

3%103

Grimes18.6 mi away

3%92

Woodward8.9 mi away

3%91

Dallas Center12 mi away

2%69

Ames27.5 mi away

2%61

Waukee20.2 mi away

1%43

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%1,349

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

How far

How far Perry commutes

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

38%

26%

23%

13%

38%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

23%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Perry is a commuter town

0.61jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Perry are

1,860 jobs are based in Perry. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Perry’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Perry

1,860 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Perry residents hold

3,068 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month58%

+1%

Jobs based in Perry, 2013 → 2023: 1,835 → 1,860. 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.