Work, pay and getting to work in Gowrie
4% of workers have no commute at all, where Iowa as a whole has 11%. About one in ten work in Gowrie itself; outside it, Fort Dodge draws the most (28%, 17 miles). The trip to work takes 31 minutes on average, where Iowa has 20 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Gowrie apart
Gowrie workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
28% of Gowrie works in Fort Dodge
110 working residents, 28%, have their main job in Fort Dodge, 17 miles away. That’s 4 times as many as work in Gowrie itself. The commute map ↓
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 389 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
From Gowrie, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gowrie workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 424 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.
Where the trip to work from Gowrie ends
Where Gowrie clocks in
28% of workers
4% 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.
Who commutes out of Gowrie, and who commutes in
On a workday 356 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 239 people come in from elsewhere.
About 830 people are in Gowrie on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.70 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What work there is in Gowrie: 272 jobs
272 jobs are based in Gowrie.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gowrie, 2013 → 2023: 284 → 272. 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 Gowrie’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Gowrie’s workers travel
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 Gowrie: questions
What is the median household income in Gowrie?
$80,417 (±$19,836) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gowrie?
9.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gowrie?
31 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gowrie work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Dodge (28%, 17 mi), Ames (4%, 38 mi), Lake City (3%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Gowrie 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 Gowrie, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gowrie
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.