Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to La Motte

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Harris-Wagon-and-Carriage-ShopPhoto: KEVIN SCHUCHMANN · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in La Motte

La Motte has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each

The trip to work takes 27 minutes on average; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26. There are 44 jobs in La Motte, and 126 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% work in La Motte itself; outside it, Dubuque draws the most (24%, 15 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Who commutes out of La Motte, and who commutes in

On a workday 124 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 42 people come in from elsewhere.

124live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
42work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night230
Workday150
230live here− 120head out to work+ 42come in to work= 150on a workday

About 150 people are in La Motte on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.35jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.

The commute map

Where people from La Motte work

Andrew: 3 residents work here (2%)St. Donatus: 2 residents work here (2%)La MotteSpringbrook: 2 residents work here (2%)MechanicsvilleBellevue: 7 residents work here (6%)Maquoketa: 22 residents work here (17%)Iowa FallsFairfieldClinton: 3 residents work here (2%)Dubuque: 30 residents work here (24%)Cedar Rapids: 7 residents work here (6%)Des MoinesDavenport: 8 residents work here (6%)ClarksvilleDubuqueMaquoketaDavenportBellevueCedar RapidsAndrewLa Motte
1
Dubuque14.7 mi away
24%30
2
Maquoketa16.4 mi away
17%22
3
Davenport51.1 mi away
6%8
4
Bellevue10.1 mi away
6%7
5
Cedar Rapids58.7 mi away
6%7
6
Andrew10 mi away
2%3
7
Clinton36.9 mi away
2%3
8
St. Donatus6.2 mi away
2%2
9
La Motte (in town)right here
2%2
10
Springbrook11.6 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
32%40
The top trips

Where La Motte clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Mostly health care, schools and offices in La Motte

Jobs based in La MotteJobs La Motte residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%17%
Trade, transport & utilities14%25%
Services: health, schools, offices86%57%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less41%11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month30%28%
Over $3,333 a month30%61%

Who does it

29 or younger30%15%
30 to 5443%52%
55 and older27%33%
−48%

Jobs based in La Motte, 2014 → 2024: 85 → 44. 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 2024.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Motte’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 27 minutes to work from La Motte

A year of commuting
207 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

La Motte27 min
Iowa20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
14%

of La Motte workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How La Motte gets to work
97%Drive alone
3%Carpool

Share of the 128 commuters (the 14% 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.

How far

How far La Motte goes to work

10 mi25 mi50 mi70 miDubuque: 24% · 14.7 miMaquoketa: 17% · 16.4 miDavenport: 6% · 51.1 miBellevue: 6% · 10.1 miCedar Rapids: 6% · 58.7 miAndrew: 2% · 10 miClinton: 2% · 36.9 miSt. Donatus: 2% · 6.2 miSpringbrook: 2% · 11.6 miDubuque 24%Maquoketa 17%Davenport 6%Bellevue 6%Cedar Rapids 6%La Motte
La MotteTop destinations (size = commuters)
12%Under 10 mi15 residents
55%10–24 mi69 residents
8%25–50 mi10 residents
25%Over 50 mi32 residents

About 25% 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 2024.

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in La Motte: questions

What is the median household income in La Motte?

$84,167 (±$21,538) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in La Motte?

11.2%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from La Motte?

27 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in La Motte work?

2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dubuque (24%, 15 mi), Maquoketa (17%, 16 mi), Davenport (6%, 51 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).

Can you get around La Motte without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from La Motte, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of La Motte

La Motte home →

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.