How Keystone works: jobs, income and commuting
The trip to work takes 36 minutes on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. Only 3% work in Keystone; the top destination outside it is Cedar Rapids (22%, 27 miles). Employers in Keystone report 188 jobs for 276 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Keystone, in brief
Keystone’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Keystone is Cedar Rapids, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 22% of working residents (62) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Keystone workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 123 more than the state’s typical worker. 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; with 276 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Short hops and long hauls from Keystone
About 22% 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.
Commuting from Keystone: about 36 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Keystone workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 261 commuters (the 8% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Keystone
On a workday 267 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 179 people come in from elsewhere.
About 530 people are in Keystone on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
Where the trip to work from Keystone ends
Where Keystone clocks in
22% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Keystone
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Keystone, 2013 → 2023: 142 → 188. 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 Keystone’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Keystone: questions
What is the median household income in Keystone?
$67,500 (±$25,922) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Keystone?
10.6%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Keystone?
36 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Keystone work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cedar Rapids (22%, 27 mi), Des Moines (4%, 78 mi), Iowa City (4%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Keystone without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Keystone, from the people who make the trip.
More of Keystone
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.