Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Colfax commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Only 5% work in Colfax; the top destination outside it is Des Moines (24%, 21 miles). 327 jobs are based in Colfax, against 1,037 working residents. For jobs and income Colfax is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (B+).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Colfax, in brief
The better-paid jobs are outside Colfax
63% of Colfax residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 35% of the jobs based in Colfax pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Colfax pay little
30% of the jobs based in Colfax pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Colfax empties out on a workday
About 1,600 people are in Colfax on a workday afternoon, 31% fewer than the 2,300 who live here: 980 head out to work and 270 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
How Colfax earns its Jobs & income grade
All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Colfax’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Colfax could be anywhere from C to A.
Jobs in Colfax: what the 327 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colfax, 2013 → 2023: 314 → 327. 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 Colfax’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Colfax by day
On a workday 982 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 272 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Colfax on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
Where Colfax’s working residents head each day
Where Colfax clocks in
6% 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.
Colfax’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colfax workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 951 commuters (the 8% 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 Colfax goes to work
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.
In Colfax, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,033 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). 7.0% of Colfax households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Colfax’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Colfax is 1,644th among 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 139 | Van Meter IA | 1,978 | $135K | 2.6% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 170 | Ely IA | 2,366 | $106K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 209 | Granger IA | 2,179 | $112K | 3.4% | 2.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Fairfield VT | 2,031 | $87K | 5.1% | 2.4% | 6% | B |
| 1,643 | De Leon Springs FL | 2,687 | $57K | 8.0% | 0.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,644 | Colfax IA | 2,303 | $79K | 9.1% | 4.0% | 5% | B |
| 1,645 | St. Paul NE | 2,416 | $62K | 3.9% | 1.0% | 20% | B |
| 1,646 | Cedar Point NC | 1,825 | $99K | 5.4% | 2.8% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | 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 Colfax, 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 Colfax: questions
What is the median household income in Colfax?
$79,318 (±$14,017) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colfax?
9.1%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colfax?
20 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colfax work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Des Moines (24%, 21 mi), West Des Moines (6%, 30 mi), Ankeny (6%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Colfax walkable?
Colfax is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Colfax without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colfax, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colfax
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.