Work & commute · Urbandale

Work & commute in Urbandale, IA

Most working residents leave Urbandale for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (26%), West Des Moines (20%) and Ankeny (5%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

2,684 of 22,288 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 19,604 Urbandale residents head out of town to work, 2,684 work right here, and 25,432 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Urbandale.

19,604live here, work elsewhere

2,684live and work here

25,432work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Urbandale goes to work

Des Moines9.8 mi away

26%5,740

West Des Moines6 mi away

20%4,504

Urbandale (in town)right here

12%2,684

Ankeny11.3 mi away

5%1,061

Johnston4.8 mi away

5%1,048

Clive2 mi away

4%943

Waukee6.2 mi away

3%574

Grimes3.1 mi away

2%549

Ames28.1 mi away

2%506

Altoona15.5 mi away

1%262

Everywhere elseother towns and states

20%4,417

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

How far

How far Urbandale commutes

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

72%

14%

10%

72%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Urbandale is balanced between jobs and homes

1.26jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Urbandale are

28,116 jobs are based in Urbandale. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Urbandale’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Urbandale

28,116 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month68%

Jobs Urbandale residents hold

22,288 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+23%

Jobs based in Urbandale, 2013 → 2023: 22,945 → 28,116. 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.