Armstrong at work: jobs, income and the commute
For 1% of workers, the job is at home, against 11% across Iowa. About one in seven stay in Armstrong for work; outside it, Estherville is the main destination (14%, 18 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 16 minutes; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Armstrong at work: what stands out
Armstrong’s commute takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Armstrong workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 307 commuters (the 1% 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 Armstrong
On a workday 317 residents head out to work, 59 work right here, and 238 people come in from elsewhere.
About 750 people are in Armstrong on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 per resident).
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 towns that employ Armstrong’s residents
Where Armstrong clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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.
Armstrong works in goods: 39% of its jobs
297 jobs are based in Armstrong.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Armstrong, 2013 → 2023: 241 → 297. 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 Armstrong’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Armstrong
About 21% 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 Armstrong: questions
What is the median household income in Armstrong?
$58,250 (±$8,859) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Armstrong?
5.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Armstrong?
16 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Armstrong work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Estherville (14%, 18 mi), Fairmont (7%, 17 mi), Emmetsburg (6%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Armstrong without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Armstrong, from the people who make the trip.
More of Armstrong
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.