Work & commute · Tama

Work & commute in Tama, IA

Most working residents leave Tama for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Toledo (9%), Marshalltown (7%) and Grinnell (6%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

214 of 1,348 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 1,134 Tama residents head out of town to work, 214 work right here, and 1,148 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Tama.

1,134live here, work elsewhere

214live and work here

1,148work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Tama goes to work

Tama (in town)right here

16%214

Toledo1.8 mi away

9%123

Marshalltown17.7 mi away

7%100

Grinnell17.7 mi away

6%77

Newton30.4 mi away

3%42

Cedar Rapids46 mi away

3%41

Des Moines59.9 mi away

3%34

Waterloo38.2 mi away

3%34

Ankeny55.3 mi away

1%17

Ames54 mi away

1%16

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%650

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

How far

How far Tama commutes

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

40%

19%

15%

26%

40%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Tama is balanced between jobs and homes

1.01jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.01 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Tama are

1,362 jobs are based in Tama. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Tama’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Tama

1,362 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)60%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)28%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs Tama residents hold

1,348 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+78%

Jobs based in Tama, 2013 → 2023: 765 → 1,362. 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.