Work & commute · Woodward

Work & commute in Woodward, IA

Most working residents leave Woodward for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Des Moines (21%), West Des Moines (18%) and Urbandale (8%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23 of 780 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 757 Woodward residents head out of town to work, 23 work right here, and 982 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Woodward.

757live here, work elsewhere

23live and work here

982work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Woodward goes to work

Des Moines25.1 mi away

21%161

West Des Moines22.1 mi away

18%139

Urbandale16.6 mi away

8%61

Ankeny18.5 mi away

5%38

Ames19.5 mi away

4%33

Clive17.7 mi away

3%27

Waukee18.2 mi away

3%27

Grimes13.5 mi away

3%25

Johnston15 mi away

3%25

Woodward (in town)right here

3%23

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%221

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

How far

How far Woodward commutes

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

75%

9%Under 10 mi

75%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Woodward is balanced between jobs and homes

1.29jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Woodward are

1,005 jobs are based in Woodward. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Woodward’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Woodward

1,005 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities2%

Services (health, schools, offices…)98%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs Woodward residents hold

780 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month72%

−41%

Jobs based in Woodward, 2013 → 2023: 1,692 → 1,005. 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.