Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Newton are lower than in 77% of U.S. towns
About one in three work in Newton itself; outside it, Des Moines draws the most (11%, 31 miles). Newton grades C for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The average commute takes 22 minutes each way, where Iowa has 20 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Newton apart
Why Newton gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Newton is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #103 of 140 in Iowa. Job access by car holds Newton’s grade up (ahead of 58% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($57,771, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Newton could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Newton
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.
Who leaves Newton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 4,590 residents head out to work, 2,152 work right here, and 4,051 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 (0.92 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.
The places Newton commutes to
Where Newton clocks in
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 Newton
6,203 jobs are based in Newton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newton, 2013 → 2023: 7,260 → 6,203. 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 Newton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Newton spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newton workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,618 commuters (the 10% 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.
In Newton, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Newton is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #49 of 140 in Iowa. Both inputs place Newton near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,315 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). 7.5% of Newton households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Newton’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Newton is 1,622nd of 2,109 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Grimes IA | 17,405 | $120K | 4.4% | 1.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 420 | Norwalk IA | 15,004 | $103K | 4.2% | 3.4% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 542 | Clive IA | 19,861 | $132K | 7.3% | 4.0% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,620 | Sevierville TN | 19,010 | $52K | 15.4% | 4.4% | 27% | C |
| 1,621 | Marinette WI | 11,168 | $59K | 11.8% | 3.8% | 46% | C |
| 1,622 | Newton IA | 15,741 | $58K | 11.1% | 5.7% | 32% | C |
| 1,623 | Webb City MO | 13,459 | $65K | 20.5% | 4.3% | 10% | C |
| 1,624 | Rockport TX | 11,348 | $72K | 11.9% | 6.1% | 26% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Newton, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
Newton and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Newton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton | – | C | A− | 22 min | $57,771 |
| Lambs Grove | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lambs Grove: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Newton’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 Newton: questions
What is the median household income in Newton?
$57,771 (±$7,427) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newton?
11.1%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newton?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Newton work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Des Moines (11%, 31 mi), Grinnell (5%, 16 mi), West Des Moines (4%, 40 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Newton walkable?
Newton is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Newton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newton
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.