Work & commute · Storm Lake

Work & commute in Storm Lake, IA

70% of Storm Lake’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Sioux City (2%), Holstein (1%) and Spencer (1%). Half commute less than 1 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

70%

3,496 of 4,977 working residents

Typical commute

1 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

10 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 1,481 Storm Lake residents head out of town to work, 3,496 work right here, and 5,412 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Storm Lake.

1,481live here, work elsewhere

3,496live and work here

5,412work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Storm Lake goes to work

Storm Lake (in town)right here

70%3,496

Sioux City61.6 mi away

2%116

Holstein20.7 mi away

1%69

Spencer34.9 mi away

1%65

Cherokee19.5 mi away

1%56

Alta5.8 mi away

1%45

Sioux Falls, SD99.2 mi away

1%44

Denison44.1 mi away

1%37

Des Moines109.9 mi away

1%36

Laurens22.6 mi away

1%33

Everywhere elseother towns and states

20%980

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

How far

How far Storm Lake commutes

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

72%

18%

72%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Storm Lake is a job hub

1.79jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Storm Lake are

8,908 jobs are based in Storm Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Storm Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Storm Lake

8,908 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)48%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)41%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Storm Lake residents hold

4,977 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)55%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)32%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+20%

Jobs based in Storm Lake, 2013 → 2023: 7,448 → 8,908. 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.