Work & commute · West Liberty

Work & commute in West Liberty, IA

About one in 4 of West Liberty’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Iowa City (26%), Muscatine (5%) and Coralville (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

27%

431 of 1,591 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 1,160 West Liberty residents head out of town to work, 431 work right here, and 1,158 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Liberty.

1,160live here, work elsewhere

431live and work here

1,158work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Liberty goes to work

West Liberty (in town)right here

27%431

Iowa City15 mi away

26%415

Muscatine14.7 mi away

5%81

Coralville19.3 mi away

4%68

Davenport34.1 mi away

2%39

Cedar Rapids34.5 mi away

2%27

Mount Pleasant44.7 mi away

2%26

North Liberty21.5 mi away

1%21

Des Moines121.3 mi away

1%15

Wilton12.3 mi away

1%14

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%454

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

How far

How far West Liberty commutes

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

32%

45%

14%

32%Under 10 mi

45%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Liberty is balanced between jobs and homes

1.00jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Liberty are

1,589 jobs are based in West Liberty. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Liberty’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Liberty

1,589 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)58%

Trade, transport & utilities5%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs West Liberty residents hold

1,591 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)37%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+5%

Jobs based in West Liberty, 2013 → 2023: 1,516 → 1,589. 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.