Photo: Iowahwyman · CC BY-SA 3.0Waukee has higher household incomes than 78% of U.S. towns
22% of workers have no commute at all, where Iowa as a whole has 11%. 7.4% of residents are in poverty, next to 11.1% for Iowa as a whole. Waukee grades A− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Waukee at work: what stands out
Jobs in Waukee have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Waukee went from 3,600 in 2013 to 7,507 in 2023, +109%. The jobs ↓
A lot of Waukee works one town over
30% of working residents work in a town that borders Waukee: West Des Moines (25%) and Clive (5%). Next door ↓
A lot of Waukee works from home
22% of Waukee workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Waukee’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waukee is better than 81% of U.S. towns, #25 of 140 in Iowa. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 81% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waukee could be anywhere from B to A.
What work there is in Waukee: 7,507 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waukee, 2013 → 2023: 3,600 → 7,507. 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 Waukee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Waukee’s commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waukee workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,429 commuters (the 22% 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.
Waukee quiets down on a workday
On a workday 11,378 residents head out to work, 1,019 work right here, and 6,488 people come in from elsewhere.
About 30,000 people are in Waukee on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.61 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.
25% of working residents work in West Des Moines
Where Waukee clocks in
25% 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.
Half of Waukee commutes less than 8 miles
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.
Most of Waukee commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waukee is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #115 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% 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 15,933 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% 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). 2.7% of Waukee households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Waukee’s commuters take a bus or train.
Waukee places 438th of 1,287 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 24,000 to 47,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 304 | Bettendorf IA | 40,710 | $100K | 6.7% | 2.4% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 349 | Johnston IA | 25,065 | $107K | 10.2% | 2.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 436 | Moorpark CA | 35,023 | $148K | 4.9% | 5.1% | 11% | A− |
| 437 | Nutley Township NJ | 30,744 | $120K | 6.8% | 5.8% | 8% | A− |
| 438 | Waukee IA | 34,890 | $101K | 7.4% | 3.5% | 8% | A− |
| 439 | Burlington Township NJ | 24,893 | $104K | 7.6% | 4.3% | 9% | A− |
| 440 | Elk Grove Village IL | 31,885 | $94K | 7.9% | 4.1% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 525 | Cedar Falls IA | 41,240 | $77K | 15.7% | 3.9% | 36% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,287 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Waukee, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
Bordering towns draw 30% of Waukee’s workers
The biggest share goes to West Des Moines (25%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waukee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waukee | – | A− | C+ | 20 min | $101,029 |
| Clive | 5% | A | B+ | 21 min | $132,121 |
| West Des Moines | 25% | A− | B+ | 18 min | $86,594 |
| Van Meter | under 1% | A+ | C− | 22 min | $135,139 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Waukee’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 Waukee: questions
What is the median household income in Waukee?
$101,029 (±$11,251) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waukee?
7.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waukee?
20 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waukee work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Des Moines (25%, 6 mi), Des Moines (23%, 14 mi), Urbandale (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waukee walkable?
Waukee is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waukee without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waukee, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waukee
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.