Shellsburg has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
There are 111 jobs in Shellsburg; 465 of its residents have a job. Only 2% work in Shellsburg; the top destination outside it is Cedar Rapids (40%, 13 miles). A typical one-way commute from Shellsburg lasts 26 minutes (Iowa 20, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Shellsburg apart on work
40% of Shellsburg works in Cedar Rapids
185 working residents, 40%, have their main job in Cedar Rapids, 13 miles away. That’s 20 times as many as work in Shellsburg itself. The commute map ↓
Shellsburg is a place people come home to
There are 111 jobs based in Shellsburg, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Shellsburg has about 640 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Shellsburg workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 26 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 199 hours of commuting, 46 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 465 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Shellsburg to work: where people go
Where Shellsburg clocks in
40% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
Shellsburg quiets down on a workday
On a workday 455 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 101 people come in from elsewhere.
About 640 people are in Shellsburg on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
How long Shellsburg spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shellsburg workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 378 commuters (the 11% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Shellsburg
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shellsburg, 2013 → 2023: 112 → 111. 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 Shellsburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Shellsburg’s workers travel
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.
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 Shellsburg: questions
What is the median household income in Shellsburg?
$70,179 (±$10,877) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shellsburg?
2.7%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shellsburg?
26 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shellsburg work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cedar Rapids (40%, 13 mi), Vinton (6%, 9 mi), Hiawatha (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Shellsburg 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 Shellsburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shellsburg
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.