Photo: Bill Whittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Columbus Junction commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
There are 355 jobs in Columbus Junction; 777 of its residents have a job. Columbus Junction grades C for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 7% stay in Columbus Junction for work; outside it, Iowa City is the main destination (8%, 27 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Columbus Junction apart on work
Columbus Junction’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Columbus Junction is Iowa City, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (65) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Columbus Junction workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Columbus Junction
62% of Columbus Junction residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 43% of the jobs based in Columbus Junction pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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 777 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Columbus Junction’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Columbus Junction is better than 31% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Columbus Junction’s grade up (10.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 31% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.6%) is left out: Columbus Junction’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Columbus Junction could be anywhere from D to B.
The commute from Columbus Junction, by distance
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 long Columbus Junction spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Columbus Junction workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 876 commuters (the 5% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Columbus Junction, 2013 → 2023: 378 → 355. 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 Columbus Junction’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Columbus Junction, and who commutes in
On a workday 722 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 300 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Columbus Junction on a workday afternoon, 24% 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 Columbus Junction’s working residents head each day
Where Columbus Junction clocks in
7% of workers
3% 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.
The commute in Columbus Junction is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Columbus Junction is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Columbus Junction near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 920 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). 4.6% of Columbus Junction households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Columbus Junction’s commuters take a bus or train.
Columbus Junction is 3,555th of 6,085 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Van Meter IA | 1,978 | $135K | 2.6% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 150 | Walford IA | 1,359 | $129K | 1.1% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 173 | Ely IA | 2,366 | $106K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,553 | Ahwahnee CA | 1,453 | $77K | 8.9% | 0.9% | 2% | C |
| 3,554 | Polo IL | 2,235 | $63K | 20.5% | 3.0% | 10% | C |
| 3,555 | Columbus Junction IA | 1,772 | $64K | 10.3% | 3.6% | 7% | C |
| 3,556 | Ackley IA | 1,530 | $63K | 7.5% | 2.0% | 16% | C |
| 3,557 | Cooperstown NY | 1,840 | $76K | 11.6% | 5.8% | 35% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Columbus Junction, 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 Columbus Junction: questions
What is the median household income in Columbus Junction?
$63,828 (±$10,135) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Columbus Junction?
10.3%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Columbus Junction?
29 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Columbus Junction work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Iowa City (8%, 27 mi), Muscatine (7%, 18 mi), West Liberty (3%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Columbus Junction walkable?
Columbus Junction is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Columbus Junction without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Columbus Junction, from the people who make the trip.
More of Columbus Junction
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.