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Work & commute · Red Oak

Work & commute in Red Oak, IA

About one in 3 of Red Oak’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Omaha (6%), Council Bluffs (4%) and Clarinda (3%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
33%
788 of 2,387 working residents
Typical commute
13 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
21 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
11%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,599 Red Oak residents head out of town to work, 788 work right here, and 1,434 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Red Oak.

1,599live here, work elsewhere
788live and work here
1,434work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Red Oak goes to work

ElliottStantonMalvernVilliscaGlenwoodShenandoahRed OakClarindaCrestonCouncil BluffsDes MoinesWest Des MoinesLincolnOmahaOmahaCouncil BluffsClarindaGlenwoodShenandoahDes MoinesCrestonLincolnWest Des MoinesRed Oak
1
Red Oak (in town)right here
33%788
2
Omaha, NE46.4 mi away
6%154
3
Council Bluffs36.2 mi away
4%92
4
Clarinda21.5 mi away
3%75
5
Glenwood27 mi away
2%54
6
Shenandoah19.3 mi away
2%52
7
Des Moines92.2 mi away
2%41
8
Creston44.9 mi away
2%36
9
Lincoln, NE77 mi away
1%32
10
West Des Moines83.6 mi away
1%31
Everywhere elseother towns and states
43%1,032

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

How far

How far Red Oak commutes

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

49%Under 10 mi
10%10–24 mi
21%25–50 mi
20%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Red Oak is balanced between jobs and homes

0.93jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.93 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Red Oak are

2,222 jobs are based in Red Oak. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Red Oak’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Red Oak

2,222 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)19%
Trade, transport & utilities20%
Services (health, schools, offices…)61%
$1,250 a month or less18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month29%
Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Red Oak residents hold

2,387 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)27%
Trade, transport & utilities19%
Services (health, schools, offices…)55%
$1,250 a month or less18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month26%
Over $3,333 a month57%
−7%

Jobs based in Red Oak, 2013 → 2023: 2,384 → 2,222. 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.

The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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