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Farmers' State BankFarmers' State Bank · Photo: Patrick B Dillon · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Jobs & commute in Volga

Volga has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

Working residents average 22 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. Employers in Volga report 19 jobs, against 96 working residents. Only 1% work in Volga itself; outside it, Strawberry Point draws the most (11%, 8 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Who commutes out of Volga, and who commutes in

On a workday 95 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 18 people come in from elsewhere.

95live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
18work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night200
Workday120
200live here− 95head out to work+ 18come in to work= 120on a workday

About 120 people are in Volga on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.20jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Out of Volga to work: where people go

Dundee: 2 residents work here (2%)EarlvilleVolgaEdgewood: 4 residents work here (4%)Prairie CityElkader: 9 residents work here (9%)FayetteMarquette: 2 residents work here (2%)Strawberry Point: 11 residents work here (11%)Mount Vernon: 2 residents work here (2%)Manchester: 6 residents work here (6%)Independence: 2 residents work here (2%)AnkenyCedar Rapids: 7 residents work here (7%)Waterloo: 3 residents work here (3%)FairburyStrawberry PointElkaderCedar RapidsManchesterEdgewoodWaterlooVolga
1
Strawberry Point8.5 mi away
11%11
2
Elkader8 mi away
9%9
3
Cedar Rapids58.4 mi away
7%7
4
Manchester22.4 mi away
6%6
5
Edgewood13.1 mi away
4%4
6
Waterloo46.4 mi away
3%3
7
Dundee15.5 mi away
2%2
8
Marquette24.3 mi away
2%2
9
Mount Vernon60.9 mi away
2%2
10
Independence29.8 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
50%48
The top trips

Where Volga clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

What Volga’s employers do

Jobs based in VolgaJobs Volga residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms26%29%
Trade, transport & utilities16%19%
Services: health, schools, offices58%52%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less26%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month21%22%
Over $3,333 a month53%60%

Who does it

29 or younger5%24%
30 to 5447%46%
55 and older47%30%
+19%

Jobs based in Volga, 2013 → 2023: 16 → 19. 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 Volga’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Commuting from Volga: about 22 minutes a trip

A year of commuting
169 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Volga22 min
Iowa20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
1%

of Volga workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Volga gets to work
63%Drive alone
35%Carpool
2%Walk

Share of the 86 commuters (the 1% 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 far

How many miles Volga commutes

10 mi25 mi50 mi70 miStrawberry Point: 11% · 8.5 miElkader: 9% · 8 miCedar Rapids: 7% · 58.4 miManchester: 6% · 22.4 miEdgewood: 4% · 13.1 miWaterloo: 3% · 46.4 miDundee: 2% · 15.5 miMarquette: 2% · 24.3 miMount Vernon: 2% · 60.9 miIndependence: 2% · 29.8 miStrawberry Point 11%Elkader 9%Cedar Rapids 7%Manchester 6%Edgewood 4%Volga
VolgaTop destinations (size = commuters)
30%Under 10 mi29 residents
19%10–24 mi18 residents
21%25–50 mi20 residents
30%Over 50 mi29 residents

About 30% 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Volga: questions

What is the median household income in Volga?

$54,063 (±$30,281) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Volga?

6.9%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Volga?

22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Volga work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Strawberry Point (11%, 8 mi), Elkader (9%, 8 mi), Cedar Rapids (7%, 58 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Volga without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Volga, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Volga

Volga home →

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.