Photo: Warby07-644-2010 · Public domainMilford has 1.9 jobs for every working resident: 2,235 people commute in to work
Jobs & income C+: better than 37% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #97 of 140 in Iowa.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns · #70 of 140 in Iowa.
Household incomes here are lower than in 68% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 19 minutes each way (Iowa 20, U.S. 26). About one in four work in Milford; the top destination outside it is Spirit Lake (18%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Milford, in brief
Jobs in Milford have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Milford went from 825 in 2013 to 2,555 in 2023, +210%. The jobs ↓
Milford is where the jobs are
Milford has 2,555 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Many jobs in Milford pay little
29% of the jobs based in Milford pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 32% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Milford
58% of Milford residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Milford pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 77% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Milford’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Milford is better than 37% of U.S. towns, #97 of 140 in Iowa. The poverty rate holds Milford’s grade up (8.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Milford could be anywhere from D to B+.
What the 2,555 jobs in Milford are
2,555 jobs are based in Milford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Milford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Milford, 2013 → 2023: 825 → 2,555. 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.
Milford fills up on a workday
On a workday 1,055 residents head out to work, 320 work right here, and 2,235 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in Milford on a workday afternoon, 37% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 Milford’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Milford clocks in
18% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 19 minutes each way, about the IA average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Milford workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,742 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Iowa: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Milford commutes less than 7 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 22% 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.
Most trips from Milford start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Milford is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #70 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% 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 1,815 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). 2.1% of Milford households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Milford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Milford is 2,926th of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Milford, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Solon IA | 3,345 | $113K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 186 | Ely IA | 2,366 | $106K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 325 | Fairfax IA | 2,925 | $114K | 6.2% | 1.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,924 | Emma NC | 2,657 | $44K | 11.3% | 0.0% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,925 | Virden IL | 3,149 | $81K | 10.2% | 6.8% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,926 | Milford IA | 3,209 | $63K | 8.9% | 4.2% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,927 | Amber Township MI | 2,550 | $71K | 9.0% | 4.6% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,928 | Stockholm NY | 3,857 | $77K | 12.8% | 3.0% | 2% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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.
Milford and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Arnolds Park (4%). Darker towns draw more of Milford’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Milford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milford | – | C+ | B+ | 19 min | $63,369 |
| West Okoboji | 1% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Arnolds Park | 4% | B | B | 17 min | $86,833 |
Same-state neighbors only. West Okoboji: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Milford: questions
What is the median household income in Milford?
$63,369 (±$8,506) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Milford?
8.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Milford?
19 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Milford work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spirit Lake (18%, 6 mi), Spencer (10%, 13 mi), Arnolds Park (4%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Milford walkable?
Milford is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Milford 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 Milford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Milford
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.