Work and commuting in Delaware
Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average, next to 20 for Iowa and 26 for the U.S. Only 5% work in Delaware; the top destination outside it is Manchester (19%, 6 miles). Employers in Delaware report 81 jobs, against 64 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who works in Delaware, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 61 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 78 people come in from elsewhere.
About 160 people are in Delaware on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 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.
Commuting out of Delaware: the destinations
Where Delaware clocks in
19% of workers
14% of workers
11% 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.
What Delaware’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Delaware, 2013 → 2023: 71 → 81. 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 Delaware’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Delaware: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Delaware workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 67 commuters (the 13% 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 distance from Delaware 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.
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 Delaware: questions
What is the median household income in Delaware?
$78,750 (±$19,819) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Delaware?
2.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Delaware?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Delaware work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Manchester (19%, 6 mi), Dyersville (14%, 11 mi), Cedar Rapids (11%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Delaware without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Delaware, from the people who make the trip.
More of Delaware
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.