Work & commute · West Bend

Work & commute in West Bend, IA

Most working residents leave West Bend for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Emmetsburg (16%), Algona (7%) and Laurens (2%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

47 of 299 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

12 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 252 West Bend residents head out of town to work, 47 work right here, and 410 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Bend.

252live here, work elsewhere

47live and work here

410work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Bend goes to work

West Bend (in town)right here

16%47

Emmetsburg15.9 mi away

16%47

Algona13.4 mi away

7%21

Laurens21.8 mi away

2%6

Graettinger24.6 mi away

2%6

Des Moines104.9 mi away

2%5

Whittemore7.2 mi away

1%4

Bancroft25.7 mi away

1%4

Estherville36.1 mi away

1%4

Spencer38 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

51%151

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

How far

How far West Bend commutes

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

25%

41%

12%

22%

25%Under 10 mi

41%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Bend is a job hub

1.53jobs 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 West Bend are

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

Jobs based in West Bend

457 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs West Bend residents hold

299 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+22%

Jobs based in West Bend, 2013 → 2023: 375 → 457. 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.