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Blockton, IAPhoto: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Blockton

Most of Blockton commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident

1% of workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. Employers in Blockton report 6 jobs, against 54 working residents. Hardly any work in Blockton; the top destination outside it is Bedford (30%, 14 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Blockton on a workday afternoon

On a workday 54 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 6 people come in from elsewhere.

54live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
6work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night120
Workday75
120live here− 54head out to work+ 6come in to work= 75on a workday

About 75 people are in Blockton on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.11jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

The towns that employ Blockton’s residents

Griswold: 1 residents work here (2%)BlocktonDiagonal: 2 residents work here (4%)Bedford: 16 residents work here (30%)Corning: 1 residents work here (2%)Lenox: 3 residents work here (6%)AvocaMount AyrShenandoah: 1 residents work here (2%)Clarinda: 5 residents work here (9%)Adel: 1 residents work here (2%)CrestonPella: 3 residents work here (6%)Maryville: 4 residents work here (7%)BedfordClarindaMaryvilleLenoxPellaDiagonalBlockton
1
Bedford13.5 mi away
30%16
2
Clarinda30.3 mi away
9%5
3
Maryville, MO28 mi away
7%4
4
Lenox18.9 mi away
6%3
5
Pella97.9 mi away
6%3
6
Diagonal15.2 mi away
4%2
7
Griswold54.9 mi away
2%1
8
Corning29.3 mi away
2%1
9
Shenandoah47.9 mi away
2%1
10
Adel72.7 mi away
2%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
31%17
The top trips

Where Blockton clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

67% of the jobs in Blockton pay over $3,333 a month

Jobs based in BlocktonJobs Blockton residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%26%
Trade, transport & utilities67%17%
Services: health, schools, offices33%57%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less33%31%
$1,251–$3,333 a month0%26%
Over $3,333 a month67%43%

Who does it

29 or younger0%35%
30 to 5450%43%
55 and older50%22%
+50%

Jobs based in Blockton, 2013 → 2023: 4 → 6. 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 Blockton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Commuting from Blockton: about 34 minutes a trip

A year of commuting
261 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Blockton34 min
Iowa20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
1%

of Blockton workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Blockton gets to work
78%Drive alone
16%Carpool
3%Walk
4%Other

Share of the 77 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.

How far

Blockton’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miBedford: 30% · 13.5 miClarinda: 9% · 30.3 miMaryville: 7% · 28 miLenox: 6% · 18.9 miPella: 6% · 97.9 miDiagonal: 4% · 15.2 miGriswold: 2% · 54.9 miCorning: 2% · 29.3 miShenandoah: 2% · 47.9 miAdel: 2% · 72.7 miBedford 30%Clarinda 9%Maryville 7%Lenox 6%Pella 6%Blockton
BlocktonTop destinations (size = commuters)
4%Under 10 mi2 residents
43%10–24 mi23 residents
25%25–50 mi13 residents
28%Over 50 mi15 residents

About 28% 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Blockton: questions

What is the median household income in Blockton?

$78,750 (±$14,350) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Blockton?

4.1%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Blockton?

34 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Blockton work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bedford (30%, 14 mi), Clarinda (9%, 30 mi), Maryville (7%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Blockton without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Blockton, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Blockton

Blockton home →

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.