Photo: Chipchicken · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Colo commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Working residents average 30 minutes each way; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26. There are 121 jobs in Colo, and 413 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% stay in Colo for work; outside it, Ames is the main destination (22%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Colo in brief
Colo is a place people come home to
There are 121 jobs based in Colo, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Colo has about 550 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Colo workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 413 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The workday shuffle in and out of Colo
On a workday 406 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 114 people come in from elsewhere.
About 550 people are in Colo on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
Commuting from Colo: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colo workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 303 commuters (the 10% 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.
Where Colo’s working residents head each day
Where Colo clocks in
22% of workers
8% 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 Colo: what the 121 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colo, 2013 → 2023: 106 → 121. 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 Colo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Colo commutes less than 23 miles
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 Colo: questions
What is the median household income in Colo?
$64,000 (±$26,237) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colo?
6.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colo?
30 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colo work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ames (22%, 16 mi), Des Moines (11%, 34 mi), Nevada (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Colo without a car?
3% 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 Colo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colo
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.