Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0For about two in five of its working residents, Carter Lake is a commute to Omaha
Only 5% work in Carter Lake itself; outside it, Omaha draws the most (44%, 7 miles). Jobs and income earn Carter Lake B+; getting around on foot earns it B+. Working residents average 23 minutes each way; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Carter Lake stands out on work
Many Carter Lake workers cross into Nebraska
56% of Carter Lake workers work outside Iowa, most of them in Nebraska, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Carter Lake live in another state
Omaha, NE (34%), Bellevue, NE (5%) and La Vista, NE (1%) are among the top places Carter Lake’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 41% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Most Carter Lake residents work close to home
72% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Carter Lake’s working residents have a job less than 7 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 23 minutes, longer than the Iowa average of 20. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: Carter Lake’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Carter Lake is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #43 of 140 in Iowa. Job access by car holds Carter Lake’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Carter Lake could be anywhere from C+ to A+.
Where the trip to work from Carter Lake ends
Where Carter Lake clocks in
44% of workers
20% 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.
How many miles Carter Lake commutes
About 18% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 23 minutes each way, longer than most of Iowa
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carter Lake workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,559 commuters (the 12% 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 daily flow of workers through Carter Lake
On a workday 1,540 residents head out to work, 82 work right here, and 1,140 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Carter Lake on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.75 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
A place that makes things: 32% of Carter Lake’s jobs are in goods
1,222 jobs are based in Carter Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carter Lake, 2014 → 2024: 815 → 1,222. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Carter Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Carter Lake is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carter Lake is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #74 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.4% across Iowa.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,763 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 24% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.2% of Carter Lake households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Carter Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Carter Lake next to U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,000: 1,404th of 4,318 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 150 | Solon IA | 3,345 | $113K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 244 | Huxley IA | 4,715 | $112K | 4.5% | 1.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 345 | Fairfax IA | 2,925 | $114K | 6.2% | 1.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,402 | Taymouth Township MI | 4,037 | $82K | 2.4% | 5.1% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,403 | Underhill VT | 3,071 | $92K | 6.4% | 2.2% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,404 | Carter Lake IA | 3,670 | $85K | 11.5% | 3.8% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,405 | Dyersville IA | 4,574 | $84K | 4.9% | 3.2% | 26% | B+ |
| 1,406 | Everson WA | 3,254 | $80K | 5.5% | 2.0% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,318 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Carter Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
Work next door: 64% of Carter Lake’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carter Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Lake | – | B+ | B+ | 23 min | $85,349 |
| Council Bluffs | 20% | B− | B+ | 18 min | $64,578 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Omaha. Darker towns draw more of Carter Lake’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 Carter Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Carter Lake?
$85,349 (±$12,718) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carter Lake?
11.5%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carter Lake?
23 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carter Lake work?
5% work in town.
Is Carter Lake walkable?
Carter Lake is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carter Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carter Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carter Lake
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.