Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Algona (2.0%) is lower than in 85% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Algona is better than 49% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (A). More than half work in Algona itself; outside it, West Bend draws the most (2%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Algona: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Algona are quick
The average trip to work takes 11 minutes, against 20 across Iowa. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Iowa worker. Time on the road ↓
Algona is where the jobs are
Algona has 3,890 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Few Algona workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The figures behind Algona’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Algona’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($56,040, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Algona could be anywhere from C to B.
Time on the road from Algona: about 11 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Algona workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,441 commuters (the 4% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Algona
On a workday 1,135 residents head out to work, 1,368 work right here, and 2,522 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,700 people are in Algona on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the people who work in Algona live
Where Algona clocks in
2% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
Goods, not services: 33% of the jobs in Algona
3,890 jobs are based in Algona.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Algona, 2013 → 2023: 3,943 → 3,890. 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 Algona’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Algona
About 23% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Algona
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,540 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.7% of Algona households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Algona’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Algona is 2,026th among 3,651 U.S. towns of 3,700 to 7,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 155 | Eldridge IA | 6,954 | $106K | 1.3% | 1.0% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 221 | Asbury IA | 6,035 | $125K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 256 | Huxley IA | 4,715 | $112K | 4.5% | 1.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,024 | Santa Teresa NM | 6,041 | $63K | 23.9% | 1.9% | 4% | B− |
| 2,025 | Barling AR | 5,452 | $54K | 15.1% | 1.8% | 2% | B− |
| 2,026 | Algona IA | 5,309 | $56K | 6.9% | 2.0% | 55% | B− |
| 2,027 | Bourbon Township IL | 4,173 | $77K | 13.2% | 2.1% | 37% | B− |
| 2,028 | Clinton Township MI | 3,700 | $77K | 4.3% | 7.1% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,651 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Algona, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
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 Algona: questions
What is the median household income in Algona?
$56,040 (±$4,787) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Algona?
6.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Algona?
11 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Algona work?
55% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Bend (2%, 13 mi), Mason City (2%, 52 mi), Fort Dodge (2%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Algona walkable?
Algona is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Algona without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Algona, from the people who make the trip.
More of Algona
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.