At 0.4%, unemployment in Tiffin is lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 78% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Tiffin are A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 4% work in Tiffin itself; outside it, Iowa City draws the most (40%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Tiffin, in brief
Jobs in Tiffin have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Tiffin went from 330 in 2013 to 892 in 2023, +170%. The jobs ↓
40% of Tiffin works in Iowa City
1,081 working residents, 40%, have their main job in Iowa City, 7.4 miles away. That’s 10 times as many as work in Tiffin itself. The commute map ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Tiffin’s working residents have a job less than 7 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 22 minutes, longer than the Iowa average of 20. Time on the road ↓
Most Tiffin residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Tiffin
71% of Tiffin residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 52% of the jobs based in Tiffin pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Tiffin’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Tiffin is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #10 of 140 in Iowa. Unemployment is its strongest input; the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (7.6%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Tiffin could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
What Tiffin’s employers do
892 jobs are based in Tiffin.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tiffin, 2013 → 2023: 330 → 892. 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 Tiffin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Tiffin work
Where Tiffin clocks in
14% 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.
Time on the road from Tiffin: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tiffin workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,584 commuters (the 19% 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.
Where in the region Tiffin works
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.
Tiffin quiets down on a workday
On a workday 2,601 residents head out to work, 101 work right here, and 791 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Tiffin on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
Tiffin is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tiffin is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #127 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% of 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 3,175 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). <1% 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 0.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 48% 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). 0.7% of Tiffin households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Tiffin’s commuters take a bus or train.
Tiffin next to U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700: 450th of 3,205 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Eldridge IA | 6,954 | $106K | 1.3% | 1.0% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 182 | Bondurant IA | 9,647 | $136K | 6.2% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 209 | Asbury IA | 6,035 | $125K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 448 | Waterville Township OH | 7,112 | $114K | 7.1% | 1.6% | 8% | A |
| 449 | North Codorus Township PA | 9,486 | $98K | 4.1% | 2.2% | 3% | A |
| 450 | Tiffin IA | 7,156 | $101K | 7.6% | 0.4% | 4% | A |
| 451 | Schaghticoke NY | 7,297 | $107K | 3.4% | 2.5% | 7% | A |
| 452 | Lake Dallas TX | 7,852 | $77K | 3.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,205 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Tiffin, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
Bordering towns draw 12% of Tiffin’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tiffin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiffin | – | A | C+ | 22 min | $100,952 |
| Coralville | 12% | B | A | 19 min | $69,144 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Coralville. Darker towns draw more of Tiffin’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 Tiffin: questions
What is the median household income in Tiffin?
$100,952 (±$25,401) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tiffin?
7.6%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tiffin?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tiffin work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Iowa City (40%, 7 mi), Cedar Rapids (14%, 18 mi), Coralville (12%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Tiffin walkable?
Tiffin is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tiffin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tiffin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tiffin
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.