With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Alexander works elsewhere
16 jobs are based in Alexander; 55 of its residents have a job. Only 2% work in Alexander itself; outside it, Hampton draws the most (13%, 14 miles). Commuters spend 28 minutes getting to work on average, where Iowa has 20 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who works in Alexander, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 54 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 15 people come in from elsewhere.
About 120 people are in Alexander on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Alexander commutes to
Where Alexander clocks in
13% of workers
11% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alexander, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 16. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alexander’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Alexander: about 28 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alexander workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 82 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Iowa: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Alexander’s workers travel
About 31% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Alexander: questions
What is the median household income in Alexander?
$56,250 (±$34,539) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alexander?
27.7%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alexander?
28 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alexander work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hampton (13%, 14 mi), Iowa Falls (11%, 22 mi), Sheffield (7%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Alexander without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Alexander, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alexander
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.