Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Colwell
The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26. 0% of workers work from home; Iowa has 11%. Hardly any work in Colwell; the top destination outside it is Charles City (36%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Colwell
On a workday 14 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 15 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.07 per resident).
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 Colwell goes to work
Where Colwell clocks in
36% of workers
14% of workers
7% 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.
Inside Colwell’s 15 jobs
15 jobs are based in Colwell.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colwell, 2013 → 2023: 2 → 15. 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 Colwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Colwell spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colwell workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 23 commuters (the 0% 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.
Half of Colwell commutes less than 15 miles
About 21% 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.
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 Colwell: questions
What is the poverty rate in Colwell?
0.0%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colwell?
26 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colwell work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Charles City (36%, 8 mi), Mason City (14%, 31 mi), Floyd (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Colwell without a car?
30% 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 Colwell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colwell
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.