Work & commute · Sheldon

Work & commute in Sheldon, IA

40% of Sheldon’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Sioux Center (6%), Orange City (5%) and Sioux City (3%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

40%

1,155 of 2,914 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 1,759 Sheldon residents head out of town to work, 1,155 work right here, and 2,404 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sheldon.

1,759live here, work elsewhere

1,155live and work here

2,404work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sheldon goes to work

Sheldon (in town)right here

40%1,155

Sioux Center18 mi away

6%164

Orange City16.3 mi away

5%158

Sioux City54.8 mi away

3%91

Boyden8.1 mi away

3%75

Sanborn9.5 mi away

3%75

Hospers8 mi away

2%47

Spencer34.9 mi away

1%42

Le Mars32.2 mi away

1%39

Rock Valley22.5 mi away

1%38

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%1,030

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

How far

How far Sheldon commutes

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

51%

24%

17%

51%Under 10 mi

24%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sheldon is balanced between jobs and homes

1.22jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Sheldon are

3,559 jobs are based in Sheldon. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Sheldon’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Sheldon

3,559 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Sheldon residents hold

2,914 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+4%

Jobs based in Sheldon, 2013 → 2023: 3,423 → 3,559. 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.