Work & commute · Waterloo

Work & commute in Waterloo, IA

53% of Waterloo’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Cedar Falls (18%), Cedar Rapids (3%) and Des Moines (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

53%

15,537 of 29,244 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 13,707 Waterloo residents head out of town to work, 15,537 work right here, and 28,735 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Waterloo.

13,707live here, work elsewhere

15,537live and work here

28,735work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Waterloo goes to work

Waterloo (in town)right here

53%15,537

Cedar Falls5.5 mi away

18%5,200

Cedar Rapids50.2 mi away

3%790

Des Moines90.6 mi away

2%570

Waverly17 mi away

2%453

West Des Moines98.1 mi away

1%289

Evansdale4.6 mi away

1%267

Iowa City71.5 mi away

1%235

Dubuque83.8 mi away

1%224

Ankeny82.8 mi away

1%199

Everywhere elseother towns and states

19%5,480

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

How far

How far Waterloo commutes

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

73%

18%

73%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Waterloo is a job hub

1.51jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Waterloo are

44,272 jobs are based in Waterloo. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waterloo’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Waterloo

44,272 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Waterloo residents hold

29,244 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−9%

Jobs based in Waterloo, 2013 → 2023: 48,908 → 44,272. 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.