Photo: Bill Whittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Earning a living in Richland
There are 129 jobs in Richland, against 207 working residents. Only 2% stay in Richland for work; outside it, Ottumwa is the main destination (13%, 25 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 31 minutes (Iowa 20, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Richland and work: the main findings
Richland’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Richland is Ottumwa, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (27) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Richland workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 84 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 207 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Half of Richland commutes less than 24 miles
About 25% 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.
Commuting from Richland: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Richland workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 240 commuters (the 7% 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.
Richland quiets down on a workday
On a workday 203 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 125 people come in from elsewhere.
About 450 people are in Richland on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.62 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 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Richland: the destinations
Where Richland clocks in
6% 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.
What Richland’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Richland, 2013 → 2023: 89 → 129. 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 Richland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Richland: questions
What is the median household income in Richland?
$60,446 (±$5,547) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Richland?
10.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Richland?
31 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Richland work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ottumwa (13%, 25 mi), Fairfield (6%, 12 mi), Sigourney (6%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Richland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Richland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Richland
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.