Photo: Richc80 · CC BY 3.0Granger has higher household incomes than 85% of U.S. towns
19% of workers have no commute at all (Iowa 11%). Below the poverty line: 3.4% of residents, next to 11.1% for Iowa as a whole. Jobs and income earn Granger A; getting around on foot earns it D.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Granger, in a few figures
Stores, warehouses and trucking
77% of the jobs in Granger are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Granger trades workers with the towns around it
Granger has about as many jobs (920) as working residents (1,010), but they are mostly different people: 987 residents leave for work each day while 897 people come in. Only 3% of the jobs in Granger are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most jobs in Granger pay over $40,000 a year
80% of the jobs based in Granger pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Granger workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 26 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 199 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Granger works from home
19% of Granger workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. 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.
Inside Granger’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Granger is better than 94% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 71% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Granger could be anywhere from A− to A+.
80% of the jobs in Granger pay over $3,333 a month
920 jobs are based in Granger.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Granger, 2013 → 2023: 208 → 920. 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 Granger’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 987 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 897 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 (0.91 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.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Granger
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Granger workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 807 commuters (the 19% 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.
21% of working residents work in Des Moines
Where Granger clocks in
17% of workers
10% 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.
Half of Granger commutes less than 13 miles
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.
For most of Granger, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Granger is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.4% across Iowa.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 999 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.0% of Granger households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Granger’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,404 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900, Granger comes 207th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Van Meter IA | 1,978 | $135K | 2.6% | 1.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 167 | Ely IA | 2,366 | $106K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 205 | Roman Forest TX | 2,347 | $139K | 3.0% | 3.3% | <1% | A |
| 206 | Jefferson Township PA | 2,425 | $116K | 1.2% | 2.2% | 2% | A |
| 207 | Granger IA | 2,179 | $112K | 3.4% | 2.1% | 2% | A |
| 208 | Terrace Park OH | 2,357 | $198K | 2.1% | 3.9% | 2% | A |
| 209 | Oak Ridge TX | 1,671 | $97K | 2.3% | 15.7% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 347 | Slater IA | 1,617 | $98K | 3.8% | 1.1% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Granger, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
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 Granger: questions
What is the median household income in Granger?
$112,404 (±$13,201) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Granger?
3.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Granger?
26 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Granger work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Des Moines (21%, 17 mi), West Des Moines (17%, 14 mi), Urbandale (10%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Granger walkable?
Granger is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Granger without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Granger, from the people who make the trip.
More of Granger
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.