Laurel has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
1% of workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. 58 jobs are based in Laurel for 103 working residents. Hardly any stay in Laurel for work; outside it, Marshalltown is the main destination (22%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Laurel quiets down on a workday
On a workday 103 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 58 people come in from elsewhere.
About 170 people are in Laurel on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
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 Laurel to work: where people go
Where Laurel clocks in
22% of workers
9% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Laurel
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Laurel, 2013 → 2023: 54 → 58. 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 Laurel’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Laurel: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Laurel workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 130 commuters (the 1% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Laurel
About 17% 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 Laurel: questions
What is the median household income in Laurel?
$61,250 (±$22,919) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Laurel?
8.3%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Laurel?
26 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Laurel work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marshalltown (22%, 10 mi), Des Moines (10%, 42 mi), Ames (9%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Laurel without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Laurel, from the people who make the trip.
More of Laurel
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.