How Goldfield works: jobs, income and commuting
The trip to work takes 24 minutes on average (Iowa 20, U.S. 26). Only 5% stay in Goldfield for work; outside it, Eagle Grove is the main destination (11%, 5 miles). 220 jobs are based in Goldfield; 264 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Goldfield: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 250 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 206 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 (0.83 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.
The places Goldfield commutes to
Where Goldfield clocks in
Lines 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.
78% of the jobs in Goldfield pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Goldfield, 2013 → 2023: 222 → 220. 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 Goldfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Goldfield: about 24 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Goldfield workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 239 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.
How many miles Goldfield commutes
About 17% 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 Goldfield: questions
What is the median household income in Goldfield?
$53,092 (±$10,024) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Goldfield?
13.7%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Goldfield?
24 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Goldfield work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eagle Grove (11%, 5 mi), Clarion (9%, 10 mi), Webster City (8%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Goldfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Goldfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Goldfield
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.