Spirit Lake Massacre Log Cabin · Photo: C.h.carroll at English Wikipedia · Public domainMaking a living in Okoboji
Employers in Okoboji report 349 jobs, and 261 of its residents work somewhere. For 24% of workers, the job is at home (Iowa 11%). A typical one-way commute lasts 15 minutes, next to 20 for Iowa and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Okoboji and work: the main findings
Okoboji and Spirit Lake trade workers both ways
Spirit Lake is the top workplace for Okoboji residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Okoboji come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A lot of Okoboji works from home
24% of Okoboji workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Okoboji pay little
28% of the jobs based in Okoboji pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 34% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 261 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
20% of working residents work in Spirit Lake
Where Okoboji clocks in
20% of workers
8% 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.
About 15 minutes each way for Okoboji’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Okoboji workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 361 commuters (the 24% 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 kinds of work in Okoboji
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Okoboji, 2014 → 2024: 287 → 349. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Okoboji’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Okoboji for work, and who comes in
On a workday 253 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 341 people come in from elsewhere.
About 800 people are in Okoboji on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
How far Okoboji goes to work
About 29% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The towns next door employ 20% of Okoboji
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Okoboji workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okoboji | – | — | — | 15 min | $73,000 |
| Spirit Lake | 20% | B− | B+ | 13 min | $65,720 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Spirit Lake. Darker towns draw more of Okoboji’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 2024, 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 Okoboji: questions
What is the median household income in Okoboji?
$73,000 (±$2,672) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Okoboji?
11.2%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Okoboji?
15 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Okoboji work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spirit Lake (20%, 2 mi), Milford (8%, 3 mi), Spencer (8%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Okoboji without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Okoboji, from the people who make the trip.
More of Okoboji
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.