Work & commute · Iowa

Work & commute in Iowa, LA

Most working residents leave Iowa for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Lake Charles (47%), Sulphur (2%) and Lafayette (2%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

70 of 1,218 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 1,148 Iowa residents head out of town to work, 70 work right here, and 497 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Iowa.

1,148live here, work elsewhere

70live and work here

497work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Iowa goes to work

Lake Charles12.2 mi away

47%568

Iowa (in town)right here

6%70

Sulphur20.5 mi away

2%30

Lafayette58.8 mi away

2%27

Baton Rouge113.1 mi away

2%25

Moss Bluff12.5 mi away

1%15

Houston, TX145.6 mi away

1%13

Alexandria79.5 mi away

1%12

New Orleans184.4 mi away

1%9

Cameron35 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%440

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

How far

How far Iowa commutes

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

16%

59%

21%

16%Under 10 mi

59%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Iowa is a commuter town

0.47jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Iowa are

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

Jobs based in Iowa

567 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities44%

Services (health, schools, offices…)44%

$1,250 a month or less29%

$1,251–$3,333 a month44%

Over $3,333 a month27%

Jobs Iowa residents hold

1,218 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month47%

+14%

Jobs based in Iowa, 2013 → 2023: 497 → 567. 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.