J. C. Robinson House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0More than half of Waterloo’s working residents commute to Omaha
Waterloo has 451 jobs, against 470 working residents. Only 4% work in Waterloo; the top destination outside it is Omaha (57%, 12 miles). The average commute takes 23 minutes each way (Nebraska 19, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Waterloo: the gist
More than half of Waterloo works in Omaha
270 working residents, 57%, have their main job in Omaha, 12 miles away. That’s 14 times as many as work in Waterloo itself. The commute map ↓
Waterloo makes and builds things
40% of the jobs based in Waterloo are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Waterloo residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. 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; with 470 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The towns that employ Waterloo’s residents
Where Waterloo clocks in
57% of workers
4% 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.
A place that makes things: 40% of Waterloo’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waterloo, 2013 → 2023: 427 → 451. 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 Waterloo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Waterloo on a workday afternoon
On a workday 451 residents head out to work, 19 work right here, and 432 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 (0.96 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.
Waterloo’s commute takes about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waterloo workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 406 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Nebraska: 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 Waterloo
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.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Waterloo: questions
What is the median household income in Waterloo?
$67,941 (±$6,812) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waterloo?
7.6%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waterloo?
23 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waterloo work?
4% work in town.
Can you get around Waterloo without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waterloo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waterloo
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.