Work & commute · Primghar

Work & commute in Primghar, IA

Most working residents leave Primghar for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Sheldon (24%), Sanborn (9%) and Orange City (5%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19 of 418 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 399 Primghar residents head out of town to work, 19 work right here, and 320 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Primghar.

399live here, work elsewhere

19live and work here

320work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Primghar goes to work

Sheldon12.9 mi away

24%101

Sanborn6.8 mi away

9%38

Orange City22.7 mi away

5%22

Primghar (in town)right here

5%19

Paullina8 mi away

3%12

Spencer24 mi away

3%11

Boyden20.6 mi away

2%10

Sioux Center27.8 mi away

2%10

Sioux City56.5 mi away

2%9

Sioux Falls, SD64.1 mi away

2%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%177

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

How far

How far Primghar commutes

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

24%

46%

12%

17%

24%Under 10 mi

46%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Primghar is balanced between jobs and homes

0.81jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Primghar are

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

Jobs based in Primghar

339 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Primghar residents hold

418 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−17%

Jobs based in Primghar, 2013 → 2023: 409 → 339. 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.