With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Wellsburg works elsewhere
A typical one-way commute lasts 29 minutes, where Iowa has 20 and the U.S. 26. Wellsburg has 182 jobs, against 338 working residents. Only 5% work in Wellsburg itself; outside it, Waterloo draws the most (17%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Wellsburg at work: what stands out
Wellsburg’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Wellsburg is Waterloo, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 17% of working residents (59) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Wellsburg workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 20 across Iowa. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 69 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 338 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far Wellsburg’s workers travel
About 18% 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.
From Wellsburg, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wellsburg workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 288 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.
Wellsburg by day and by night
On a workday 320 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 164 people come in from elsewhere.
About 560 people are in Wellsburg on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
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 places Wellsburg commutes to
Where Wellsburg clocks in
17% of workers
15% of workers
12% 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.
Jobs in Wellsburg: what the 182 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wellsburg, 2013 → 2023: 187 → 182. 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 Wellsburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Wellsburg: questions
What is the median household income in Wellsburg?
$64,375 (±$9,655) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wellsburg?
4.5%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wellsburg?
29 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wellsburg work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Waterloo (17%, 30 mi), Grundy Center (15%, 9 mi), Cedar Falls (12%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Wellsburg 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 Wellsburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wellsburg
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.