Cities in Iowa by mean travel time to work

North Liberty, IA had the highest mean travel time to work of 40 cities in 2021, at 25.6 minutes. Carroll, IA had the lowest, at 10.1 minutes. The median was 18.1 minutes and the figure for Iowa was 19.6 minutes. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest25.6North Liberty, IA

Lowest10.1Carroll, IA

Median18.140 cities

Iowa19.6History

All cities, 2021

minutes. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2021 minutes
1	North Liberty, IA Estimated	25.6
2	Norwalk, IA Estimated	23.1
3	Pleasant Hill, IA Estimated	22.8
4	Altoona, IA Estimated	22
5	Indianola, IA Estimated	21.7
6	Ankeny, IA Estimated	21.3
7	Newton, IA Estimated	20.5
8	Bettendorf, IA Estimated	19.9
9	Marion, IA Estimated	19.8
10	Coralville, IA Estimated	19.5
11	Waukee, IA Estimated	19.4
12	Council Bluffs, IA Estimated	19.2
12	Johnston, IA Estimated	19.2
12	Urbandale, IA Estimated	19.2
15	Des Moines, IA Estimated	19.1
16	Grimes, IA Estimated	18.6
17	Boone, IA Estimated	18.5
18	Clinton, IA Estimated	18.4
19	Clive, IA Estimated	18.1
19	Davenport, IA Estimated	18.1
21	Iowa City, IA Estimated	18
22	West Des Moines, IA Estimated	17.9
23	Cedar Rapids, IA Estimated	17.8
24	Spencer, IA Estimated	17.5
25	Muscatine, IA Estimated	17.3
26	Fort Dodge, IA Estimated	17
27	Marshalltown, IA Estimated	16.8
27	Sioux City, IA Estimated	16.8
29	Ames, IA Estimated	16.7
30	Ottumwa, IA Estimated	16.5
31	Waterloo, IA Estimated	16.4
31	Waverly, IA Estimated	16.4
33	Cedar Falls, IA Estimated	15.3
34	Le Mars, IA Estimated	15
34	Oskaloosa, IA Estimated	15
36	Burlington, IA Estimated	14.7
37	Dubuque, IA Estimated	14.6
37	Mason City, IA Estimated	14.6
39	Pella, IA Estimated	13
40	Carroll, IA Estimated	10.1

Other periods

2024
2023
2022
2021

About this ranking

Mean one-way travel time to work in minutes for workers aged 16 and over who did not work from home.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more) (Cities in Iowa by mean travel time to work, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by mean travel time to work, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-travel-time-to-work/iowa-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Cities in Iowa by mean travel time to work, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-travel-time-to-work/iowa-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more), Cities in Iowa by mean travel time to work, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-travel-time-to-work/iowa-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_iowa_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by mean travel time to work, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-travel-time-to-work/iowa-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary\_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more): Cities in Iowa by mean travel time to work, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-travel-time-to-work/iowa-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-travel-time-to-work/iowa-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which city has the highest mean travel time to work?

North Liberty, IA, with 25.6 minutes in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest mean travel time to work?

Carroll, IA, with 10.1 minutes in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates: mean travel time to work, B08135 aggregate minutes divided by B08303 workers not working at home, US cities (incorporated places of 10,000 or more). Retrieved 2026-10-12.