Work & commute · West Union

Work & commute in West Union, IA

About one in 3 of West Union’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Decorah (5%), Fayette (4%) and Postville (3%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

32%

370 of 1,163 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 793 West Union residents head out of town to work, 370 work right here, and 1,112 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Union.

793live here, work elsewhere

370live and work here

1,112work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Union goes to work

West Union (in town)right here

32%370

Decorah23.7 mi away

5%58

Fayette8.1 mi away

4%42

Postville15.1 mi away

3%38

Oelwein20.5 mi away

3%32

Waterloo42.3 mi away

3%31

Cedar Rapids69.1 mi away

2%27

Elkader21.9 mi away

2%25

Dubuque64.5 mi away

2%22

Cedar Falls44.5 mi away

2%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%499

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

How far

How far West Union commutes

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

42%

21%

13%

24%

42%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Union is balanced between jobs and homes

1.27jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in West Union are

1,482 jobs are based in West Union. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Union’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Union

1,482 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs West Union residents hold

1,163 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+3%

Jobs based in West Union, 2013 → 2023: 1,433 → 1,482. 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.