At 18.8%, unemployment in Alta is among the highest of any U.S. town
Only 8% work in Alta; the top destination outside it is Storm Lake (47%, 6 miles). Jobs and income earn Alta C−; getting around on foot earns it C. The trip to work takes 14 minutes on average (Iowa 20, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Alta apart
Nearly half of Alta works in Storm Lake
437 working residents, 47%, have their main job in Storm Lake, 5.8 miles away. That’s 6 times as many as work in Alta itself. The commute map ↓
Most Alta residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Commutes from Alta are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 20 across Iowa. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Iowa worker. 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; with 931 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Alta’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Alta is better than 16% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Alta’s grade up (10.2%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Alta could be anywhere from D to C+.
The places Alta commutes to
Where Alta clocks in
47% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
The distance from Alta to work
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.
Alta’s commute takes about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alta workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 935 commuters (the 6% 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 a workday changes Alta
On a workday 858 residents head out to work, 73 work right here, and 294 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Alta on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.39 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
The 367 jobs based in Alta
367 jobs are based in Alta.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alta, 2013 → 2023: 359 → 367. 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 Alta’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Alta commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Alta is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Alta near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 993 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). 0.9% of Alta households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Alta’s commuters take a bus or train.
Alta is 4,024th of 5,234 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 135 | Van Meter IA | 1,978 | $135K | 2.6% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 158 | Ely IA | 2,366 | $106K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 191 | Granger IA | 2,179 | $112K | 3.4% | 2.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,022 | Hoxie AR | 2,568 | $35K | 19.0% | 4.3% | 10% | C− |
| 4,023 | Oak Hill FL | 2,188 | $66K | 18.7% | 8.2% | 3% | C− |
| 4,024 | Alta IA | 1,958 | $66K | 10.2% | 18.8% | 8% | C− |
| 4,025 | White River Township IN | 1,476 | $63K | 20.8% | 2.0% | 3% | C− |
| 4,026 | Woodstock ME | 1,423 | $63K | 11.5% | 3.2% | 2% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Alta, 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 Alta: questions
What is the median household income in Alta?
$65,833 (±$10,636) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alta?
10.2%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alta?
14 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alta work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Storm Lake (47%, 6 mi), Sioux City (3%, 56 mi), Cherokee (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Alta walkable?
Alta is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Alta 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 Alta, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alta
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.