Photo: Dmetz61753 · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Pella (1.1%) than in 94% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 14 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. Pella grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About two in five stay in Pella for work; outside it, Des Moines is the main destination (5%, 38 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Pella at work: what stands out
What’s behind Pella’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pella is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #32 of 140 in Iowa. Unemployment holds Pella’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pella could be anywhere from B+ to A−.
Time on the road from Pella: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pella workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,074 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.
Pella fills up on a workday
On a workday 2,834 residents head out to work, 1,930 work right here, and 4,714 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Pella on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 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 the trip to work from Pella ends
Where Pella clocks in
3% of workers
3% 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 6,644 jobs based in Pella
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pella, 2013 → 2023: 6,849 → 6,644. 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 Pella’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Pella
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.
Pella is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pella is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #29 of 140 in Iowa. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 10.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.4% across Iowa, on an EPA index of 7.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,613 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). 3.6% of Pella households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pella’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Pella is 865th of 2,507 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 163 | Bondurant IA | 9,647 | $136K | 6.2% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 590 | Sioux Center IA | 8,864 | $93K | 2.2% | 1.2% | 50% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 863 | Home Gardens CA | 10,506 | $96K | 6.2% | 5.4% | 1% | A− |
| 864 | Pasadena Hills FL | 13,505 | $85K | 4.3% | 3.3% | 1% | A− |
| 865 | Pella IA | 10,992 | $84K | 6.0% | 1.1% | 41% | A− |
| 866 | Clinton CT | 13,439 | $125K | 5.7% | 4.9% | 12% | A− |
| 867 | New Scotland NY | 9,299 | $123K | 6.4% | 4.7% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,172 | Boone IA | 12,471 | $69K | 8.3% | 2.0% | 25% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Pella, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
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 Pella: questions
What is the median household income in Pella?
$84,111 (±$5,684) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pella?
6.0%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pella?
14 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pella work?
41% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Des Moines (5%, 38 mi), Oskaloosa (3%, 16 mi), Knoxville (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pella walkable?
Pella is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pella without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pella, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pella
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.