Photo: Pleasnthillparks · CC BY-SA 4.0At 8.2%, unemployment in Pleasant Hill is higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 22 minutes each way (Iowa 20, U.S. 26). The two grades for Pleasant Hill are B for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 4% work in Pleasant Hill itself; outside it, Des Moines draws the most (36%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Pleasant Hill apart on work
A lot of Pleasant Hill works one town over
42% of working residents work in a town that borders Pleasant Hill: Des Moines (36%) and Altoona (6%). Next door ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Pleasant Hill’s working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 22 minutes, longer than the Iowa average of 20. Time on the road ↓
Pleasant Hill has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Pleasant Hill went from 2,467 in 2014 to 3,416 in 2024, +38%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Pleasant Hill’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pleasant Hill is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #63 of 140 in Iowa. Job access by car holds Pleasant Hill’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pleasant Hill could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The daily trip from Pleasant Hill: 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 Pleasant Hill workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,593 commuters (the 13% 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 3,416 jobs based in Pleasant Hill
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pleasant Hill, 2014 → 2024: 2,467 → 3,416. 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 Pleasant Hill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Pleasant Hill on a workday
On a workday 5,186 residents head out to work, 203 work right here, and 3,213 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,300 people are in Pleasant Hill on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.63 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The places Pleasant Hill commutes to
Where Pleasant Hill clocks in
11% of workers
7% 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.
How far Pleasant Hill’s workers travel
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.
Most of Pleasant Hill commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pleasant Hill is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #87 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.4% across Iowa.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,276 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% 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 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 1.4% of Pleasant Hill households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Pleasant Hill’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Pleasant Hill is 1,356th among 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% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 590 | Sioux Center IA | 8,864 | $93K | 2.2% | 1.2% | 49% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 865 | Pella IA | 10,992 | $84K | 6.0% | 1.1% | 39% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,354 | Lyons IL | 10,433 | $71K | 14.0% | 4.6% | 3% | B |
| 1,355 | Wood River IL | 10,224 | $63K | 13.9% | 2.9% | 8% | B |
| 1,356 | Pleasant Hill IA | 11,239 | $91K | 8.9% | 8.2% | 4% | B |
| 1,357 | McPherson KS | 13,918 | $78K | 13.5% | 1.9% | 41% | B |
| 1,358 | Salida CA | 13,900 | $95K | 8.2% | 8.9% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 19% | 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 Pleasant Hill, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
Work next door: 42% of Pleasant Hill’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pleasant Hill workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Hill | – | B | B | 22 min | $90,508 |
| Des Moines | 36% | C+ | A | 20 min | $65,932 |
| Altoona | 6% | B | B− | 23 min | $86,114 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Des Moines. Darker towns draw more of Pleasant Hill’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 Pleasant Hill: questions
What is the median household income in Pleasant Hill?
$90,508 (±$13,306) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pleasant Hill?
8.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pleasant Hill?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pleasant Hill work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Des Moines (36%, 6 mi), West Des Moines (11%, 15 mi), Ankeny (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Pleasant Hill walkable?
Pleasant Hill is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pleasant Hill without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pleasant Hill, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pleasant Hill
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. 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.