Photo: Blokhead · CC BY-SA 3.0Minden has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
The average commute takes 42 minutes each way, next to 20 for Iowa and 26 for the U.S. There are 47 jobs in Minden for 251 working residents. Only 2% work in Minden itself; outside it, Council Bluffs draws the most (23%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Minden, in brief
Minden workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 169 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Minden workers cross into Nebraska
39% of Minden workers work outside Iowa, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Omaha (20%) and Lincoln (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Minden is a place people come home to
There are 47 jobs based in Minden, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Minden has about 360 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 251 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Time on the road from Minden: about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Minden workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 340 commuters (the 8% 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 people from Minden work
Where Minden clocks in
23% of workers
20% 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.
How many people are in Minden by day
On a workday 247 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 43 people come in from elsewhere.
About 360 people are in Minden on a workday afternoon, 36% 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 kinds of work in Minden
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Minden, 2013 → 2023: 49 → 47. 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 Minden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Minden
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 Minden: questions
What is the median household income in Minden?
$109,167 (±$22,452) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Minden?
2.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Minden?
42 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Minden work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Council Bluffs (23%, 23 mi), Omaha (20%, 30 mi), Underwood (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Minden 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 Minden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Minden
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.