Buchanan County Court House · Photo: Kevin Schuchmann · CC BY-SA 3.0At 2.3%, unemployment in Independence is lower than in 80% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 20 minutes on average, next to 20 for Iowa and 26 for the U.S. The two grades for Independence are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in three work in Independence; the top destination outside it is Waterloo (12%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Independence, in a few figures
Independence’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Independence is Waterloo, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (358) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Independence makes and builds things
35% of the jobs based in Independence are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Independence residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 29%. The jobs ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Independence’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Independence is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #46 of 140 in Iowa. Unemployment holds Independence’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 46% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Independence could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Near or far: the trip to work from Independence
About 19% 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.
Making and building: 35% of jobs based in Independence
3,568 jobs are based in Independence.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Independence, 2013 → 2023: 3,272 → 3,568. 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 Independence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Independence
On a workday 1,939 residents head out to work, 965 work right here, and 2,603 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,000 people are in Independence on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 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.
Where Independence’s working residents head each day
Where Independence clocks in
12% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
How long Independence spends getting to work: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Independence workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,163 commuters (the 6% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Independence
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Independence is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #50 of 140 in Iowa. Both inputs place Independence near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,356 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.8% of Independence households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Independence’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,349 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,500, Independence comes 1,361st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Eldridge IA | 6,954 | $106K | 1.3% | 1.0% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 193 | Asbury IA | 6,035 | $125K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 226 | Huxley IA | 4,715 | $112K | 4.5% | 1.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,359 | Hopkinton RI | 8,393 | $97K | 7.0% | 5.1% | 7% | B |
| 1,360 | Moyock NC | 5,684 | $115K | 6.8% | 2.8% | 6% | B |
| 1,361 | Independence IA | 6,312 | $74K | 7.6% | 2.3% | 33% | B |
| 1,362 | Crescent Springs KY | 4,708 | $83K | 5.4% | 7.6% | 2% | B |
| 1,363 | Wilson PA | 8,159 | $83K | 10.5% | 4.1% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,349 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Independence, 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 Independence: questions
What is the median household income in Independence?
$73,806 (±$14,181) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Independence?
7.6%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Independence?
20 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Independence work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waterloo (12%, 23 mi), Cedar Rapids (7%, 36 mi), Cedar Falls (4%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Independence walkable?
Independence is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Independence without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Independence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Independence
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.