Photo: Angelika Lindner · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs, income and commuting in Lansing, IA
About one in five work in Lansing; the top destination outside it is Waukon (12%, 14 miles). 2% of workers work from home, next to 11% for Iowa as a whole. A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes (Iowa 20, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lansing: the figures worth knowing
Many jobs in Lansing pay little
32% of the jobs based in Lansing pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lansing
53% of Lansing residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 31% of the jobs based in Lansing pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 82% leave town for their job. 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; with 419 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The 342 jobs based in Lansing
342 jobs are based in Lansing.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lansing, 2013 → 2023: 349 → 342. 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 Lansing’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Lansing
About 32% 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.
How many people are in Lansing by day
On a workday 344 residents head out to work, 75 work right here, and 267 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 (0.82 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 Lansing’s working residents head each day
Where Lansing clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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 Lansing spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lansing workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 515 commuters (the 2% 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.
Lansing and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lansing workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lansing | – | — | — | 22 min | $65,625 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lansing’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Lansing: questions
What is the median household income in Lansing?
$65,625 (±$22,477) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lansing?
5.1%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lansing?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lansing work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waukon (12%, 14 mi), La Crosse (6%, 32 mi), Decorah (5%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lansing without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lansing, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lansing
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.