Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Saylorville (11.4%) is higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Saylorville is better than 75% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (C−). Measured by household income, Saylorville is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. Only 2% work in Saylorville; the top destination outside it is Des Moines (27%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Saylorville
Saylorville and Des Moines trade workers both ways
Des Moines is the top workplace for Saylorville residents (27%) and also where the most people who work in Saylorville come from (29% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Saylorville is where the jobs are
Saylorville has 3,443 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,200 people are in town, 54% more than the 3,400 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Saylorville residents work close to home
70% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Saylorville makes and builds things
47% of the jobs based in Saylorville are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Saylorville residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 16%. The jobs ↓
Saylorville has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Saylorville went from 2,321 in 2013 to 3,443 in 2023, +48%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Saylorville
The poverty rate holds Saylorville’s grade up (3.7%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Saylorville could be anywhere from B to A.
Commuting in to Saylorville: where workers come from
Where Saylorville clocks in
17% of workers
12% 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 Saylorville
On a workday 1,607 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 3,412 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in Saylorville on a workday afternoon, 54% more than live here.
2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
How far Saylorville’s workers travel
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.
Saylorville works in goods: 47% of its jobs
3,443 jobs are based in Saylorville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saylorville, 2013 → 2023: 2,321 → 3,443. 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 Saylorville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Saylorville takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saylorville workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,458 commuters (the 17% 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.
Getting around Saylorville: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,749 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 0.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 56% 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). 4.3% of Saylorville households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Saylorville’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,017th of 4,269: where Saylorville ranks among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 147 | Solon IA | 3,345 | $113K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 327 | Fairfax IA | 2,925 | $114K | 6.2% | 1.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 385 | Park View IA | 2,437 | $113K | 2.8% | 3.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,015 | Green Township IN | 3,718 | $116K | 0.8% | 8.0% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,016 | Mount Joy Township PA | 3,881 | $94K | 8.0% | 1.4% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,017 | Saylorville IA | 3,366 | $118K | 3.7% | 11.4% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,018 | Fairbury IL | 3,597 | $71K | 2.1% | 0.9% | 18% | B+ |
| 1,019 | Magnolia NJ | 4,415 | $101K | 6.9% | 6.2% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,269 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Saylorville, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
Next door is work for 17% of Saylorville
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saylorville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saylorville | – | B+ | C− | 18 min | $117,821 |
| Ankeny | 17% | A+ | B | 21 min | $108,198 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Ankeny. Darker towns draw more of Saylorville’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 Saylorville: questions
What is the median household income in Saylorville?
$117,821 (±$34,577) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saylorville?
3.7%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saylorville?
18 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saylorville work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Des Moines (27%, 8 mi), Ankeny (17%, 4 mi), West Des Moines (12%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Saylorville walkable?
Saylorville is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saylorville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Saylorville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saylorville
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.