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Work & commute · Thornton

Work & commute in Thornton, IA

Most working residents leave Thornton for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Mason City (26%), Rockwell (10%) and Sheffield (10%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
3%
5 of 171 working residents
Typical commute
17 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
25 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
9%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 166 Thornton residents head out of town to work, 5 work right here, and 46 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Thornton.

166live here, work elsewhere
5live and work here
46work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Thornton goes to work

Oak ParkRock FallsSwaledaleDoughertyThorntonGowrieMeserveyAllisonRockwellHamptonSheffieldClear LakeMason CityCedar RapidsDes MoinesWaterlooDavenportMason CityRockwellSheffieldClear LakeDes MoinesWaterlooHamptonCedar RapidsDavenportThornton
1
Mason City16.9 mi away
26%45
2
Rockwell10.4 mi away
10%17
3
Sheffield9.7 mi away
10%17
4
Clear Lake13.2 mi away
4%7
5
Thornton (in town)right here
3%5
6
Des Moines95.5 mi away
3%5
7
Waterloo61.1 mi away
2%4
8
Hampton16.7 mi away
2%3
9
Cedar Rapids110.3 mi away
2%3
10
Davenport171.6 mi away
2%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
36%62

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

How far

How far Thornton commutes

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

17%Under 10 mi
49%10–24 mi
8%25–50 mi
26%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Thornton is a commuter town

0.30jobs per working resident
A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Thornton are

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

Jobs based in Thornton

51 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)4%
Trade, transport & utilities59%
Services (health, schools, offices…)37%
$1,250 a month or less14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month24%
Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Thornton residents hold

171 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)29%
Trade, transport & utilities16%
Services (health, schools, offices…)55%
$1,250 a month or less13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%
Over $3,333 a month62%
−2%

Jobs based in Thornton, 2013 → 2023: 52 → 51. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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