Galva has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 2% stay in Galva for work; outside it, Holstein is the main destination (29%, 6 miles). Employers in Galva report 79 jobs, against 227 working residents. 2% of workers have no commute at all, next to 11% for Iowa as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Galva
Galva and Holstein trade workers both ways
Holstein is the top workplace for Galva residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in Galva come from (30% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
30% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Few Galva workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 227 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Galva to work: where people go
Where Galva clocks in
8% 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.
Miles to work from Galva
About 30% 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.
Time on the road from Galva: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Galva workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 203 commuters (the 2% 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.
Who works in Galva, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 222 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 74 people come in from elsewhere.
About 270 people are in Galva on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
The kinds of work in Galva
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Galva, 2013 → 2023: 82 → 79. 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 Galva’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Galva: questions
What is the median household income in Galva?
$73,750 (±$13,171) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Galva?
21.7%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Galva?
19 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Galva work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Holstein (29%, 6 mi), Storm Lake (8%, 15 mi), Sioux City (7%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Galva without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Galva, from the people who make the trip.
More of Galva
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.