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Work & commute · Des Moines

Work & commute in Des Moines, MN

Most working residents leave Des Moines for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Jackson (32%), Windom (10%) and Lakefield (9%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
3%
3 of 92 working residents
Typical commute
14 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
19 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
8%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 89 Des Moines residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 78 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Des Moines.

89live here, work elsewhere
3live and work here
78work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Des Moines goes to work

Spirit LakeEsthervilleTrumanLakefieldMountain LakeWellsWindomJacksonNorth MankatoMarshallFairmontBrookingsWisconsinDes MoinesBelmontMiddletownHunterPetersburgJacksonWindomLakefieldSpirit LakeNorth MankatoMountain LakeWellsFairmontBrookingsDes Moines
1
Jackson3.7 mi away
32%29
2
Windom16.8 mi away
10%9
3
Lakefield6.1 mi away
9%8
4
Spirit Lake, IA15.3 mi away
5%5
5
North Mankato63.4 mi away
3%3
6
Des Moines (in town)right here
3%3
7
Mountain Lake22.4 mi away
2%2
8
Wells66.8 mi away
2%2
9
Fairmont29.9 mi away
2%2
10
Brookings, SD97.4 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
29%27

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

How far

How far Des Moines commutes

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

46%Under 10 mi
26%10–24 mi
8%25–50 mi
21%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Des Moines is balanced between jobs and homes

0.88jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.88 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Des Moines are

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

Jobs based in Des Moines

81 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)36%
Trade, transport & utilities46%
Services (health, schools, offices…)19%
$1,250 a month or less2%
$1,251–$3,333 a month12%
Over $3,333 a month85%

Jobs Des Moines residents hold

92 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)28%
Trade, transport & utilities15%
Services (health, schools, offices…)57%
$1,250 a month or less21%
$1,251–$3,333 a month24%
Over $3,333 a month55%
+108%

Jobs based in Des Moines, 2013 → 2023: 39 → 81. 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.

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Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Des Moines, MNJackson CountyView boundary

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Des Moines is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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