Photo: Brandonrush · Public domainJobs, pay and the trip to work in Ottosen
18% of workers work from home; Iowa has 11%. Hardly any stay in Ottosen for work; outside it, Humboldt is the main destination (28%, 14 miles). 22 jobs are based in Ottosen; 18 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Ottosen
On a workday 18 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 22 people come in from elsewhere.
About 43 people are in Ottosen on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 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.
Where Ottosen’s working residents head each day
Where Ottosen clocks in
28% 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.
68% of the jobs in Ottosen pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ottosen, 2013 → 2023: 21 → 22. 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 Ottosen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Ottosen
of Ottosen workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9 commuters (the 18% 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 Ottosen
About 33% 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 Ottosen: questions
What is the median household income in Ottosen?
$41,667 (±$9,973) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ottosen?
22.6%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Ottosen work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Humboldt (28%, 14 mi), Dakota City (6%, 15 mi), Gilmore City (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ottosen 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 Ottosen, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ottosen
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.