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Work & commute · Rock Rapids

Work & commute in Rock Rapids, IA

About one in 3 of Rock Rapids’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Rock Valley (5%), Sioux Falls (4%) and Sioux Center (4%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
38%
489 of 1,274 working residents
Typical commute
16 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
13 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
12%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 785 Rock Rapids residents head out of town to work, 489 work right here, and 816 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rock Rapids.

785live here, work elsewhere
489live and work here
816work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Rock Rapids goes to work

DoonLarchwoodHullSibleyGeorgeRock RapidsRock ValleyOrange CitySheldonSioux CenterSpencerSioux CityLuverneSioux FallsRock ValleySioux FallsSioux CenterSheldonSioux CityOrange CityHullSpencerLuverneRock Rapids
1
Rock Rapids (in town)right here
38%489
2
Rock Valley16.7 mi away
5%68
3
Sioux Falls, SD29.4 mi away
4%53
4
Sioux Center24.3 mi away
4%49
5
Sheldon23.6 mi away
3%33
6
Sioux City65.4 mi away
2%31
7
Orange City30 mi away
1%15
8
Hull16.5 mi away
1%13
9
Spencer54.5 mi away
1%13
10
Luverne, MN15.8 mi away
1%13
Everywhere elseother towns and states
39%497

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

How far

How far Rock Rapids commutes

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

44%Under 10 mi
25%10–24 mi
12%25–50 mi
19%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Rock Rapids is balanced between jobs and homes

1.02jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.02 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Rock Rapids are

1,305 jobs are based in Rock Rapids. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rock Rapids’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rock Rapids

1,305 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)10%
Trade, transport & utilities20%
Services (health, schools, offices…)70%
$1,250 a month or less21%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%
Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Rock Rapids residents hold

1,274 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)25%
Trade, transport & utilities21%
Services (health, schools, offices…)54%
$1,250 a month or less20%
$1,251–$3,333 a month23%
Over $3,333 a month57%
+1%

Jobs based in Rock Rapids, 2013 → 2023: 1,297 → 1,305. 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.

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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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