Work & commute · Spencer

Work & commute in Spencer, IA

54% of Spencer’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Spirit Lake (5%), Sioux City (3%) and Milford (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

54%

2,704 of 4,994 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 2,290 Spencer residents head out of town to work, 2,704 work right here, and 4,071 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Spencer.

2,290live here, work elsewhere

2,704live and work here

4,071work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Spencer goes to work

Spencer (in town)right here

54%2,704

Spirit Lake18.7 mi away

5%226

Sioux City77.2 mi away

3%173

Milford13.4 mi away

3%147

Sioux Falls, SD83.9 mi away

2%83

Storm Lake34.9 mi away

2%81

Des Moines134.3 mi away

1%43

Sheldon34.9 mi away

1%42

Arnolds Park14.8 mi away

1%40

Emmetsburg24 mi away

1%39

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%1,416

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

How far

How far Spencer commutes

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

56%

15%

21%

56%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Spencer is balanced between jobs and homes

1.36jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Spencer are

6,775 jobs are based in Spencer. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Spencer’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Spencer

6,775 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Spencer residents hold

4,994 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−5%

Jobs based in Spencer, 2013 → 2023: 7,127 → 6,775. 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.