Work & commute · Wadena

Work & commute in Wadena, IA

Most working residents leave Wadena for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Fayette (12%), West Union (9%) and Oelwein (7%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 74 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 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 74 Wadena residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wadena.

74live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

19work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wadena goes to work

Fayette7.3 mi away

12%9

West Union11.3 mi away

9%7

Oelwein17.3 mi away

7%5

Waterloo42.6 mi away

5%4

Arlington6.3 mi away

4%3

Cedar Rapids60.5 mi away

4%3

La Crosse, WI71.5 mi away

4%3

Strawberry Point12.7 mi away

3%2

Eldora80.5 mi away

3%2

Waverly41.9 mi away

3%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%34

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

How far

How far Wadena commutes

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

19%

34%

23%

24%

19%Under 10 mi

34%10–24 mi

23%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wadena is a commuter town

0.26jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wadena are

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

Jobs based in Wadena

19 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less58%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month5%

Jobs Wadena residents hold

74 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month66%

−14%

Jobs based in Wadena, 2013 → 2023: 22 → 19. 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.