Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0Norwalk has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Norwalk report 2,622 jobs, against 6,946 working residents. Norwalk grades A for jobs and income and B for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Norwalk: the gist
Much of Norwalk works one town over
51% of working residents work in a town that borders Norwalk: Des Moines (32%) and West Des Moines (19%). Next door ↓
Norwalk has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Norwalk went from 1,527 in 2013 to 2,622 in 2023, +72%. The jobs ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Norwalk’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 22 minutes, longer than the Iowa average of 20. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Norwalk
72% of Norwalk residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 51% of the jobs based in Norwalk pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
A lot of Norwalk works from home
19% of Norwalk workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. Time on the road ↓
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.
The figures behind Norwalk’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Norwalk is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #12 of 140 in Iowa. The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.2%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Norwalk could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
What Norwalk’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Norwalk, 2013 → 2023: 1,527 → 2,622. 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 Norwalk’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Norwalk: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Norwalk workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,951 commuters (the 19% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Norwalk
On a workday 6,315 residents head out to work, 631 work right here, and 1,991 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Norwalk on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
32% of working residents work in Des Moines
Where Norwalk clocks in
19% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Norwalk
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.
Norwalk is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Norwalk is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #92 of 140 in Iowa. Both inputs place Norwalk 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 7,357 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 6% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.8% of Norwalk households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Norwalk’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Norwalk is 396th among 1,969 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 20,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Grimes IA | 17,405 | $120K | 4.4% | 1.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 394 | Wanaque NJ | 11,418 | $113K | 5.9% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| 395 | Auburn MA | 17,566 | $117K | 5.2% | 3.6% | 10% | A |
| 396 | Norwalk IA | 15,004 | $103K | 4.2% | 3.4% | 9% | A |
| 397 | Beachwood NJ | 11,340 | $107K | 4.5% | 3.1% | 3% | A |
| 398 | Maumee OH | 13,521 | $81K | 4.9% | 1.6% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 511 | Clive IA | 19,861 | $132K | 7.3% | 4.0% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 970 | Indianola IA | 16,829 | $75K | 6.4% | 4.0% | 22% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,969 | 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 Norwalk, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
51% of Norwalk works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Des Moines (32%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Norwalk workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwalk | – | A | B | 22 min | $102,722 |
| Des Moines | 32% | C+ | A | 20 min | $65,932 |
| West Des Moines | 19% | A− | B+ | 18 min | $86,594 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Norwalk’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 Norwalk: questions
What is the median household income in Norwalk?
$102,722 (±$14,272) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Norwalk?
4.2%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Norwalk?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Norwalk work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Des Moines (32%, 8 mi), West Des Moines (19%, 6 mi), Urbandale (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Norwalk walkable?
Norwalk is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Norwalk without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Norwalk, from the people who make the trip.
More of Norwalk
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.