Work & commute · Portland

Work & commute in Portland, IA

Most working residents leave Portland for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Mason City (54%), St. Ansgar (8%) and Britt (8%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 13 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

— 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 13 Portland residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 41 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Portland.

13live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

41work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Portland goes to work

Mason City3.6 mi away

54%7

St. Ansgar20.9 mi away

8%1

Britt33.6 mi away

8%1

Osage19.8 mi away

8%1

Clear Lake12 mi away

8%1

Cedar Falls54.2 mi away

8%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

8%1

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

How far

How far Portland commutes

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

54%

23%

15%

54%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Portland is a job hub

3.15jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Portland are

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

Jobs based in Portland

41 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities98%

Services (health, schools, offices…)0%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month76%

Jobs Portland residents hold

13 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month8%

Over $3,333 a month77%

+193%

Jobs based in Portland, 2013 → 2023: 14 → 41. 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.