Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0At 0.8%, unemployment in West Branch is lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
The two grades for West Branch are A for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in ten stay in West Branch for work; outside it, Iowa City is the main destination (33%, 10 miles). Measured by household income, West Branch is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set West Branch apart
West Branch trades workers with the towns around it
West Branch has about as many jobs (1,035) as working residents (1,134), but they are mostly different people: 1,025 residents leave for work each day while 926 people come in. Only 11% of the jobs in West Branch are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
One in three of West Branch works in Iowa City
375 working residents, 33%, have their main job in Iowa City, 9.7 miles away. That’s 3 times as many as work in West Branch itself. The commute map ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: West Branch’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Branch is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #17 of 140 in Iowa. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 63% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Branch could be anywhere from B+ to A.
West Branch by day and by night
On a workday 1,025 residents head out to work, 109 work right here, and 926 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The places West Branch commutes to
Where West Branch clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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.
Inside West Branch’s 1,035 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Branch, 2014 → 2024: 1,175 → 1,035. 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 West Branch’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way for West Branch’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Branch workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,303 commuters (the 11% 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.
The commute from West Branch, by distance
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.
The commute in West Branch is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Branch is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #111 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% 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 1,470 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.9% of West Branch households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of West Branch’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, West Branch is 523rd among 4,618 U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 141 | Solon IA | 3,345 | $113K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 183 | Ely IA | 2,366 | $106K | 2.4% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 228 | Granger IA | 2,179 | $112K | 3.4% | 2.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 521 | Bayshore NC | 2,949 | $95K | 3.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A |
| 522 | Tybee Island GA | 3,156 | $120K | 7.7% | 1.2% | 23% | A |
| 523 | West Branch IA | 2,956 | $92K | 6.4% | 0.8% | 10% | A |
| 524 | Oak Ridge North TX | 2,991 | $109K | 5.9% | 4.3% | 2% | A |
| 525 | Wales WI | 2,885 | $109K | 4.3% | 4.3% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,618 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 0% | 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 West Branch, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
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 West Branch: questions
What is the median household income in West Branch?
$92,209 (±$6,464) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Branch?
6.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Branch?
24 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Branch work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Iowa City (33%, 10 mi), Cedar Rapids (7%, 27 mi), Tipton (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Branch walkable?
West Branch is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Branch without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Branch, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Branch
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. 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.