Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0Princeton has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Home is the office for 5% of workers, next to 11% for Iowa as a whole. 106 jobs are based in Princeton for 353 working residents. Only 2% stay in Princeton for work; outside it, Davenport is the main destination (29%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Princeton and work: the main findings
Princeton is a place people come home to
There are 106 jobs based in Princeton, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Princeton has about 660 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
29% of Princeton works in Davenport
103 working residents, 29%, have their main job in Davenport, 15 miles away. That’s 15 times as many as work in Princeton itself. The commute map ↓
Princeton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. 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; with 353 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Who commutes out of Princeton, and who commutes in
On a workday 346 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 99 people come in from elsewhere.
About 660 people are in Princeton on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
Where the trip to work from Princeton ends
Where Princeton clocks in
29% of workers
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.
Princeton’s commute takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Princeton workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 396 commuters (the 5% 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.
In Princeton, 42% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 182 → 106. 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 Princeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Princeton
About 18% 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 Princeton: questions
What is the median household income in Princeton?
$87,188 (±$20,673) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Princeton?
3.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Princeton?
27 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Princeton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Davenport (29%, 15 mi), Bettendorf (11%, 9 mi), Rock Island (7%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Princeton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Princeton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Princeton
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.