Photo: Richc80 · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Lowden works elsewhere
The trip to work takes 32 minutes on average (Iowa 20, U.S. 26). There are 160 jobs in Lowden; 358 of its residents have a job. Only 4% work in Lowden itself; outside it, Cedar Rapids draws the most (15%, 40 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lowden, in a few figures
Lowden’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lowden is Cedar Rapids, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (52) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Lowden workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 92 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 358 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Half of Lowden commutes less than 30 miles
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.
The trip to work from Lowden: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lowden workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 291 commuters (the 9% 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 a workday changes Lowden
On a workday 342 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 144 people come in from elsewhere.
About 570 people are in Lowden on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
The places Lowden commutes to
Where Lowden clocks in
15% of workers
7% 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.
What Lowden’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lowden, 2013 → 2023: 157 → 160. 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 Lowden’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 Lowden: questions
What is the median household income in Lowden?
$56,118 (±$10,525) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lowden?
7.7%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lowden?
32 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lowden work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cedar Rapids (15%, 40 mi), Iowa City (8%, 34 mi), Clarence (7%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lowden without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lowden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lowden
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.