Photo: Mikjones24 · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Windsor Heights (1.4%) than in 91% of U.S. towns
Only 3% work in Windsor Heights itself; outside it, Des Moines draws the most (34%, 6 miles). Windsor Heights grades A for jobs and income and B for walkability. For 22% of workers, the job is at home, against 11% across Iowa.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Windsor Heights stands out on work
Much of Windsor Heights works one town over
56% of working residents work in a town that borders Windsor Heights: Des Moines (34%), West Des Moines (18%) and Clive (4%). Next door ↓
Most Windsor Heights residents work close to home
79% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
51% of the jobs in Windsor Heights are in trade, transport and utilities, against 20% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
A lot of Windsor Heights works from home
22% of Windsor Heights workers work from home, against 11% across Iowa. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Windsor Heights
66% of Windsor Heights residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 43% of the jobs based in Windsor Heights pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Windsor Heights’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Windsor Heights is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #8 of 140 in Iowa. Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($91,707, U.S. $80,734). 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, Windsor Heights could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
How far Windsor Heights’ workers travel
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.
Inside Windsor Heights’ 2,920 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Windsor Heights, 2013 → 2023: 2,962 → 2,920. 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 Windsor Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 14 minutes from Windsor Heights
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Windsor Heights workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,981 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.
A workday in Windsor Heights: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,354 residents head out to work, 67 work right here, and 2,853 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,600 people are in Windsor Heights on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.21 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Windsor Heights ends
Where Windsor Heights clocks in
18% of workers
8% 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.
Most trips from Windsor Heights start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Windsor Heights is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #97 of 140 in Iowa. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.1% 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 2,544 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 77% 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). 1.4% of Windsor Heights households have no vehicle (Iowa 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Windsor Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Windsor Heights ranks: 321st of 3,758 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 212 | Asbury IA | 6,035 | $125K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 242 | Huxley IA | 4,715 | $112K | 4.5% | 1.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 319 | Grafton WI | 4,343 | $87K | 2.9% | 2.1% | 2% | A |
| 320 | Turpin Hills OH | 4,875 | $141K | 4.2% | 3.4% | 2% | A |
| 321 | Windsor Heights IA | 5,059 | $92K | 6.2% | 1.4% | 3% | A |
| 322 | Circle Pines MN | 4,967 | $102K | 3.6% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| 323 | Fair Haven NJ | 6,096 | $250K | 1.1% | 4.9% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 516 | Le Claire IA | 4,741 | $105K | 6.8% | 1.8% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Windsor Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Iowa.
56% of Windsor Heights works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Windsor Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windsor Heights | – | A | B | 14 min | $91,707 |
| Clive | 4% | A | B+ | 21 min | $132,121 |
| West Des Moines | 18% | A− | B+ | 18 min | $86,594 |
| Des Moines | 34% | C+ | A | 20 min | $65,932 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Des Moines. Darker towns draw more of Windsor Heights’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 Windsor Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Windsor Heights?
$91,707 (±$19,396) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Windsor Heights?
6.2%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Windsor Heights?
14 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Windsor Heights work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Des Moines (34%, 6 mi), West Des Moines (18%, 5 mi), Urbandale (8%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Windsor Heights walkable?
Windsor Heights is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 13.4 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Windsor Heights without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Windsor Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Windsor Heights
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.