Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Making a living in Underwood
Working residents average 26 minutes each way, where Iowa has 20 and the U.S. 26. About one in ten work in Underwood itself; outside it, Council Bluffs draws the most (26%, 13 miles). There are 297 jobs in Underwood, and 436 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Underwood, in a few figures
Underwood and Council Bluffs trade workers both ways
Council Bluffs is the top workplace for Underwood residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Underwood come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A lot of Underwood workers cross into Nebraska
27% of Underwood workers work outside Iowa, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Omaha (25%), Bellevue (1%) and Lincoln (1%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Underwood 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 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 436 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The places Underwood commutes to
Where Underwood clocks in
26% of workers
25% of workers
2% 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.
How long Underwood 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 Underwood workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 418 commuters (the 12% 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.
How many people are in Underwood by day
On a workday 400 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 261 people come in from elsewhere.
About 820 people are in Underwood on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.68 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 2024, primary jobs.
Jobs in Underwood: what the 297 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Underwood, 2014 → 2024: 199 → 297. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Underwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Underwood’s commute, mile by mile
About 17% 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 2024.
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 2024, 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 Underwood: questions
What is the median household income in Underwood?
$105,341 (±$16,675) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Underwood?
3.3%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Underwood?
26 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Underwood work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Council Bluffs (26%, 13 mi), Omaha (25%, 21 mi), Oakland (2%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Underwood without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Underwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Underwood
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.