Work & commute · Van Meter

Work & commute in Van Meter, IA

Most working residents leave Van Meter for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are West Des Moines (25%), Des Moines (21%) and Urbandale (9%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19 of 1,124 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,105 Van Meter residents head out of town to work, 19 work right here, and 403 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Van Meter.

1,105live here, work elsewhere

19live and work here

403work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Van Meter goes to work

West Des Moines8.6 mi away

25%282

Des Moines17.6 mi away

21%232

Urbandale11.5 mi away

9%103

Waukee5.5 mi away

8%90

Clive9.6 mi away

5%55

Johnston16.2 mi away

4%40

Ankeny22.8 mi away

4%40

Grimes12.9 mi away

2%24

Adel6.8 mi away

2%21

Van Meter (in town)right here

2%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

19%218

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

How far

How far Van Meter commutes

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

32%

57%

32%Under 10 mi

57%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Van Meter is a commuter town

0.38jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Van Meter are

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

Jobs based in Van Meter

422 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Van Meter residents hold

1,124 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month75%

+106%

Jobs based in Van Meter, 2013 → 2023: 205 → 422. 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.