Photo: Richc80 · CC BY 3.0Nevada has lower unemployment (2.0%) than 85% of U.S. towns
There are 3,880 jobs in Nevada, against 3,286 working residents. Jobs and income earn Nevada B+; getting around on foot earns it B−. A typical one-way commute lasts 18 minutes; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Nevada: the figures worth knowing
Nevada trades workers with the towns around it
Nevada has about as many jobs (3,880) as working residents (3,286), but they are mostly different people: 2,522 residents leave for work each day while 3,116 people come in. Only 20% of the jobs in Nevada are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Nevada and Ames trade workers both ways
Ames is the top workplace for Nevada residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Nevada come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Nevada pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Nevada pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
Jobs & income in Nevada: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Nevada is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #41 of 140 in Iowa. Unemployment holds Nevada’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (9.9%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nevada could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,522 residents head out to work, 764 work right here, and 3,116 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.18 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
33% of working residents work in Ames
Where Nevada clocks in
33% 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.
Goods jobs make up 28% of work in Nevada
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nevada, 2013 → 2023: 3,931 → 3,880. 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 Nevada’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Nevada takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nevada workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,139 commuters (the 6% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Nevada
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.
In Nevada, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Nevada is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #112 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% 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 3,327 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). 3.1% of Nevada households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Nevada’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Nevada ranks: 1,253rd of 3,167 U.S. towns of 4,900 to 9,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 133 | Eldridge IA | 6,954 | $106K | 1.3% | 1.0% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 205 | Asbury IA | 6,035 | $125K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 318 | Windsor Heights IA | 5,059 | $92K | 6.2% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,251 | Grand Rapids WI | 7,622 | $97K | 7.2% | 2.8% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,252 | Eldorado at Santa Fe NM | 5,619 | $107K | 8.4% | 2.1% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,253 | Nevada IA | 6,974 | $75K | 9.9% | 2.0% | 23% | B+ |
| 1,254 | Frankenmuth MI | 5,197 | $85K | 4.9% | 4.7% | 33% | B+ |
| 1,255 | Contra Costa Centre CA | 6,893 | $121K | 10.1% | 7.3% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,167 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Nevada, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
33% of Nevada works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Ames. Darker towns draw more of Nevada’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Nevada: questions
What is the median household income in Nevada?
$75,094 (±$8,446) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nevada?
9.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nevada?
18 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nevada work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ames (33%, 8 mi), Des Moines (6%, 32 mi), Ankeny (4%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nevada walkable?
Nevada is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nevada without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nevada, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nevada
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.