With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Merrill works elsewhere
The trip to work takes 18 minutes on average, where Iowa has 20 and the U.S. 26. 36 jobs are based in Merrill, and 347 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Merrill; the top destination outside it is Sioux City (40%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Merrill and work: the main findings
Merrill is a place people come home to
There are 36 jobs based in Merrill, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Merrill has about 390 people in it, 44% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
40% of Merrill works in Sioux City
138 working residents, 40%, have their main job in Sioux City, 17 miles away. That’s far more as work in Merrill itself. The commute map ↓
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 347 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Merrill: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 346 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere.
About 390 people are in Merrill on a workday afternoon, 44% 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 Merrill commutes to
Where Merrill clocks in
40% of workers
12% of workers
4% 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 kinds of work in Merrill
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Merrill, 2013 → 2023: 39 → 36. 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 Merrill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 18 minutes each way, quicker than most of Iowa
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Merrill workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 368 commuters (the 12% 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.
Where in the region Merrill works
About 18% 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 Merrill: questions
What is the median household income in Merrill?
$82,969 (±$21,125) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Merrill?
4.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Merrill?
18 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Merrill work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sioux City (40%, 17 mi), Le Mars (12%, 6 mi), Hinton (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Merrill 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 Merrill, from the people who make the trip.
More of Merrill
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.