Photo: Ashton B Crew · CC BY 3.0Madrid has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Only 6% work in Madrid itself; outside it, Ames draws the most (14%, 15 miles). There are 512 jobs in Madrid, and 1,302 of its residents work somewhere. Madrid grades A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Madrid
The better-paid jobs are outside Madrid
67% of Madrid residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 43% of the jobs based in Madrid pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Madrid workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 54 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.
The four measures behind Madrid’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Madrid is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #19 of 140 in Iowa. Unemployment is its strongest input (1.7%, U.S. 5.2%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($89,844, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Madrid could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The kinds of work in Madrid
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madrid, 2013 → 2023: 590 → 512. 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 Madrid’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes to work from Madrid
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madrid workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,229 commuters (the 17% 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.
Madrid by day and by night
On a workday 1,218 residents head out to work, 84 work right here, and 428 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Madrid on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
Where people from Madrid work
Where Madrid clocks in
14% of workers
6% 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.
The distance from Madrid to work
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 commute in Madrid is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Madrid is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns, #120 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.4% across Iowa.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,486 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.2% of Madrid households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Madrid’s commuters take a bus or train.
Madrid is 548th of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Solon IA | 3,345 | $113K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 176 | Ely IA | 2,366 | $106K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | Granger IA | 2,179 | $112K | 3.4% | 2.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 546 | Ashland NE | 3,483 | $89K | 4.3% | 2.9% | 16% | A |
| 547 | Norwegian Township PA | 2,403 | $85K | 2.5% | 1.3% | 4% | A |
| 548 | Madrid IA | 2,820 | $90K | 6.3% | 1.7% | 6% | A |
| 549 | Cascade Township MN | 2,810 | $150K | 4.8% | 3.7% | 1% | A |
| 550 | Strawberry Plains TN | 2,669 | $75K | 3.0% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Madrid, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
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 Madrid: questions
What is the median household income in Madrid?
$89,844 (±$11,678) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madrid?
6.3%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Madrid?
27 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madrid work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ames (14%, 15 mi), Des Moines (13%, 24 mi), West Des Moines (6%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Madrid walkable?
Madrid is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Madrid without a car?
<1% 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 Madrid, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madrid
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.