Work & commute · Roland

Work & commute in Roland, IA

Most working residents leave Roland for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Ames (32%), Story City (19%) and Des Moines (4%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13 of 687 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 674 Roland residents head out of town to work, 13 work right here, and 144 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Roland.

674live here, work elsewhere

13live and work here

144work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Roland goes to work

Ames11.4 mi away

32%222

Story City4.5 mi away

19%128

Des Moines41.4 mi away

4%29

Nevada10.4 mi away

3%22

Ankeny30.4 mi away

3%20

West Des Moines44.9 mi away

3%19

Roland (in town)right here

2%13

Urbandale39.2 mi away

2%12

Johnston34.7 mi away

1%9

Gilbert8.4 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%207

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

How far

How far Roland commutes

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

27%

41%

22%

10%

27%Under 10 mi

41%10–24 mi

22%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Roland is a commuter town

0.23jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Roland are

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

Jobs based in Roland

157 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)41%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Roland residents hold

687 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month69%

−13%

Jobs based in Roland, 2013 → 2023: 181 → 157. 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.