For about half of its working residents, Washburn is a commute to Waterloo
There are 32 jobs in Washburn for 376 working residents. Hardly any stay in Washburn for work; outside it, Waterloo is the main destination (45%, 7 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 14 minutes; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Washburn apart
Nearly half of Washburn works in Waterloo
169 working residents, 45%, have their main job in Waterloo, 7.1 miles away. That’s 45 times as many as work in Washburn itself. The commute map ↓
Washburn is a place people come home to
There are 32 jobs based in Washburn, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Washburn has about 370 people in it, 48% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Washburn are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 20 across Iowa. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Iowa 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 376 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Washburn to work: where people go
Where Washburn clocks in
45% of workers
10% of workers
9% 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.
Washburn by day and by night
On a workday 374 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 30 people come in from elsewhere.
About 370 people are in Washburn on a workday afternoon, 48% fewer than live here.
0.09 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.
How long Washburn spends getting to work: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Washburn workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 363 commuters (the 7% 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.
What Washburn’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Washburn, 2014 → 2024: 37 → 32. 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 Washburn’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Washburn commutes
About 22% 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 Washburn: questions
What is the median household income in Washburn?
$61,406 (±$40,151) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Washburn?
2.7%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Washburn?
14 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Washburn work?
1% work in town.
Can you get around Washburn 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 Washburn, from the people who make the trip.
More of Washburn
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.