Work & commute · Waukee

Work & commute in Waukee, IA

Most working residents leave Waukee for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are West Des Moines (25%), Des Moines (23%) and Urbandale (9%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,019 of 12,397 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

22%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,378 Waukee residents head out of town to work, 1,019 work right here, and 6,488 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Waukee.

11,378live here, work elsewhere

1,019live and work here

6,488work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Waukee goes to work

West Des Moines5.9 mi away

25%3,111

Des Moines14.1 mi away

23%2,894

Urbandale6.2 mi away

9%1,092

Waukee (in town)right here

8%1,019

Clive4.5 mi away

5%589

Ankeny17.5 mi away

4%501

Johnston10.8 mi away

3%425

Grimes7.3 mi away

2%233

Ames33 mi away

2%191

Adel6.8 mi away

1%107

Everywhere elseother towns and states

18%2,235

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

How far

How far Waukee commutes

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

56%

31%

56%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Waukee is a commuter town

0.61jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Waukee are

7,507 jobs are based in Waukee. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waukee’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Waukee

7,507 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Waukee residents hold

12,397 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month71%

+109%

Jobs based in Waukee, 2013 → 2023: 3,600 → 7,507. 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.