Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Work and commuting in Griswold
Employers in Griswold report 334 jobs for 457 working residents. About one in seven work in Griswold; the top destination outside it is Atlantic (18%, 12 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 21 minutes; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Griswold: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 389 residents head out to work, 68 work right here, and 266 people come in from elsewhere.
About 850 people are in Griswold on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.73 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.
Out of Griswold to work: where people go
Where Griswold clocks in
18% of workers
9% of workers
6% 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.
The kinds of work in Griswold
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Griswold, 2013 → 2023: 256 → 334. 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 Griswold’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Griswold takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Griswold workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 439 commuters (the 10% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Griswold
About 20% 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 Griswold: questions
What is the median household income in Griswold?
$55,000 (±$8,647) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Griswold?
13.3%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Griswold?
21 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Griswold work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Atlantic (18%, 12 mi), Omaha (9%, 48 mi), Council Bluffs (6%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Griswold without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Griswold, from the people who make the trip.
More of Griswold
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.