Work & commute · Thompson

Work & commute in Thompson, IA

Most working residents leave Thompson for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Buffalo Center (14%), Forest City (13%) and Garner (4%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 189 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 187 Thompson residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 53 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Thompson.

187live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

53work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Thompson goes to work

Buffalo Center8.5 mi away

14%26

Forest City10.4 mi away

13%24

Garner20.6 mi away

4%7

Blue Earth, MN24.8 mi away

4%7

Lake Mills12.6 mi away

3%5

Mason City32.7 mi away

3%5

Waterloo94.1 mi away

2%4

Davenport204.5 mi away

2%4

Titonka16.2 mi away

2%3

Rake10.6 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

53%101

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

How far

How far Thompson commutes

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

31%

28%

14%

27%

31%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Thompson is a commuter town

0.29jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Thompson are

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

Jobs based in Thompson

55 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)44%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)33%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month11%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Thompson residents hold

189 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month57%

−43%

Jobs based in Thompson, 2013 → 2023: 96 → 55. 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.