Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, IA

Most working residents leave Salem for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Mount Pleasant (37%), Fairfield (4%) and Iowa City (4%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 190 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 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 188 Salem residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

188live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

35work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Mount Pleasant8.5 mi away

37%71

Fairfield21 mi away

4%8

Iowa City55.7 mi away

4%8

Davenport71.9 mi away

4%8

West Burlington23.4 mi away

4%7

Fort Madison21.5 mi away

3%6

Burlington26.2 mi away

3%6

Clinton98.9 mi away

2%4

Middletown18.8 mi away

2%3

Ottumwa43.5 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%66

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

How far

How far Salem commutes

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

44%

22%

26%

44%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is a commuter town

0.19jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

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

Jobs based in Salem

37 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less27%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month41%

Jobs Salem residents hold

190 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

−23%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 48 → 37. 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.