With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Ashton works elsewhere
Ashton has 37 jobs for 201 working residents. Only 1% stay in Ashton for work; outside it, Sibley is the main destination (15%, 7 miles). Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers, where Iowa as a whole has 11%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ashton, in a few figures
The workday shuffle in and out of Ashton
On a workday 198 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 34 people come in from elsewhere.
About 260 people are in Ashton on a workday afternoon, 38% 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 Ashton commutes to
Where Ashton clocks in
15% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Ashton: what the 37 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ashton, 2013 → 2023: 41 → 37. 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 Ashton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes each way, about the IA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ashton workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 212 commuters (the 3% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Ashton
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 Ashton: questions
What is the median household income in Ashton?
$57,375 (±$8,956) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ashton?
7.2%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ashton?
20 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ashton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sibley (15%, 7 mi), Sheldon (8%, 9 mi), Ocheyedan (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ashton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ashton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ashton
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.