Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0About half of Walker’s working residents commute to Cedar Rapids
Commuters spend 27 minutes getting to work on average, where Iowa has 20 and the U.S. 26. Hardly any stay in Walker for work; outside it, Cedar Rapids is the main destination (45%, 23 miles). Employers in Walker report 80 jobs, and 318 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Walker apart
Nearly half of Walker works in Cedar Rapids
143 working residents, 45%, have their main job in Cedar Rapids, 23 miles away. That’s 45 times as many as work in Walker itself. The commute map ↓
Walker is a place people come home to
There are 80 jobs based in Walker, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Walker has about 440 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Walker workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 54 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 318 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The towns that employ Walker’s residents
Where Walker clocks in
45% of workers
6% 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.
Walker on a workday afternoon
On a workday 316 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 78 people come in from elsewhere.
About 440 people are in Walker on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
0.25 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.
Commuting from Walker: about 27 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Walker workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 278 commuters (the 14% 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.
Jobs in Walker: what the 80 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Walker, 2013 → 2023: 63 → 80. 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 Walker’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walker’s commute, mile by mile
About 16% 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 Walker: questions
What is the median household income in Walker?
$82,656 (±$11,810) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Walker?
14.2%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Walker?
27 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Walker work?
1% work in town.
Can you get around Walker 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 Walker, from the people who make the trip.
More of Walker
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.