Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0Westphalia has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, next to 11% for Iowa as a whole. 13 jobs are based in Westphalia, against 45 working residents. Hardly any work in Westphalia; the top destination outside it is Harlan (16%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Westphalia
On a workday 45 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 13 people come in from elsewhere.
About 100 people are in Westphalia on a workday afternoon, 24% 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.
Out of Westphalia to work: where people go
Where Westphalia clocks in
16% of workers
16% of workers
13% 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.
In Westphalia, 77% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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 Westphalia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Westphalia spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Westphalia workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 71 commuters (the 4% 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.
How far it is to work from Westphalia
About 20% 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.
- Two counts of out-of-state work. The Census survey asks workers where they work: 0% of Westphalia workers work outside Iowa. The job records count 16% at employers in other states. The records use the address the employer reports and skip the self-employed, so the two can differ.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Westphalia: questions
What is the median household income in Westphalia?
$77,083 (±$29,932) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Westphalia?
3.4%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Westphalia?
24 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Westphalia work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harlan (16%, 6 mi), Omaha (16%, 46 mi), Shelby (13%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Westphalia without a car?
1% 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 Westphalia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Westphalia
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.