Work & commute · Ruthven

Work & commute in Ruthven, IA

Most working residents leave Ruthven for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Spencer (19%), Emmetsburg (6%) and Sioux City (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

35 of 294 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 259 Ruthven residents head out of town to work, 35 work right here, and 125 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ruthven.

259live here, work elsewhere

35live and work here

125work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ruthven goes to work

Spencer12.9 mi away

19%55

Ruthven (in town)right here

12%35

Emmetsburg11.1 mi away

6%19

Sioux City87.4 mi away

4%12

Spirit Lake22.5 mi away

2%7

Laurens19.7 mi away

2%6

Estherville18.9 mi away

2%6

Algona33.8 mi away

2%5

Pocahontas29.6 mi away

1%4

Sioux Center64.3 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%141

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

How far

How far Ruthven commutes

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

20%

46%

12%

22%

20%Under 10 mi

46%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ruthven is a commuter town

0.54jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Ruthven are

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

Jobs based in Ruthven

160 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month36%

Jobs Ruthven residents hold

294 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−10%

Jobs based in Ruthven, 2013 → 2023: 177 → 160. 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.