Work & commute · West Branch

Work & commute in West Branch, IA

Most working residents leave West Branch for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Iowa City (30%), Cedar Rapids (7%) and Tipton (6%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

91 of 1,279 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,188 West Branch residents head out of town to work, 91 work right here, and 751 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Branch.

1,188live here, work elsewhere

91live and work here

751work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Branch goes to work

Iowa City9.7 mi away

30%390

West Branch (in town)right here

7%91

Cedar Rapids26.9 mi away

7%91

Tipton13.3 mi away

6%71

Coralville13.2 mi away

5%68

Muscatine22.3 mi away

4%56

Davenport39 mi away

3%38

Wilton17.3 mi away

2%30

North Liberty14.8 mi away

2%26

West Liberty7.7 mi away

2%20

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%398

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

How far

How far West Branch commutes

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

29%

44%

13%

29%Under 10 mi

44%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Branch is a commuter town

0.66jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Branch are

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

Jobs based in West Branch

842 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs West Branch residents hold

1,279 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month68%

−28%

Jobs based in West Branch, 2013 → 2023: 1,170 → 842. 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.