Photo: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Sabula works elsewhere
Only 4% work in Sabula itself; outside it, Preston draws the most (15%, 11 miles). Employers in Sabula report 71 jobs for 266 working residents. Commuters spend 32 minutes getting to work on average, next to 20 for Iowa and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Sabula: the gist
Sabula and Preston trade workers both ways
Preston is the top workplace for Sabula residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Sabula come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Sabula is a place people come home to
There are 71 jobs based in Sabula, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sabula has about 300 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Sabula workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 92 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 266 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The places Sabula commutes to
Where Sabula clocks in
15% of workers
14% of workers
5% 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 daily commute in and out of Sabula
On a workday 256 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 61 people come in from elsewhere.
About 300 people are in Sabula on a workday afternoon, 39% 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.
About 32 minutes each way for Sabula’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sabula workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 219 commuters (the 6% 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.
Sabula makes things: 30% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sabula, 2013 → 2023: 58 → 71. 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 Sabula’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Sabula to work
About 20% 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.
Sabula and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sabula workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabula | – | — | — | 32 min | $77,656 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sabula’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 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 Sabula: questions
What is the median household income in Sabula?
$77,656 (±$24,066) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sabula?
9.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sabula?
32 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sabula work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Preston (15%, 11 mi), Clinton (14%, 16 mi), Maquoketa (5%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Sabula without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sabula, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sabula
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.