Charles City laborshed analysis highlights regional workforce trends

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The latest laborshed analysis for Charles City shows that more than a third of the workforce employed in the city commutes from outside the city, with the majority of them traveling from within a 24-mile radius.

It also shows that more than a fifth of local residents travel elsewhere for their jobs.

The study shows that among Charles City residents, 929 people, or 21.2% of the workforce, work in nearby communities such as Osage, New Hampton and Mason City.

These workers, which the report refers to as out-commuters, earn a median hourly wage of $24.50. Out-commuters who are paid by salary earn a median annual salary of $102,500.

The study also says that 35.4% of people who work in Charles City businesses commute from outside the city.

Tim Fox, the CEO of the Charles City Area Development Corp., said the thing that struck him was the size of the laborshed geographically.

“It’s massive,” he said. “And that’s all because of the presence of the Avenue of the Saints, I would submit.”

According to the data, Charles City’s laborshed – defined as the area from which people are willing to commute to work in Charles City – extends 94 miles from west to east and 74 miles north to south.

It goes from Garner in Hancock County in the west to Ft. Atkinson in Winneshiek County in the east, and from the Minnesota state line in the north, to Black Hawk County and the Waverly area in the south.

The analysis, provided by Iowa Workforce Development (IWF), is based on survey responses and employer-provided data.

To determine the boundaries of the laborshed area, local employers supply the residential ZIP codes of each of their employees.

The study shows Charles City is doing a really good job of attracting people to work here, but not such a good job of getting them to live here, Fox said.

“The fact that we’re able to draw from so many different communities represents our existing businesses very well,” he said. “And if we can get some housing going, ideally, that will also be a sound recruiting tool for our manufacturers.”

An analysis of the Charles City laborshed shows:

• 162,646 people in the age range of 18 to 64.

• 135,809 of those persons – 83.5% – are employed.

• 14,475 of those persons – 8.9% – are unemployed.

• 5,855 – 3.6% – identify as homemakers.

• 6,506 – 4.0% – are retired.

The study notes that employment status is self-identified by the survey respondents and doesn’t correspond to the official unemployment rate, which for Floyd County in December 2024 was listed by Iowa Workforce Development as 3.2%.

The study says that 19,555 people currently employed elsewhere in the laborshed area would consider working in Charles City if the situation is right.

Persons who consider themselves “underemployed” are working fewer than 35 hours a week and desire more hours, are in positions that do not meet their skill or education level, have worked for higher wages at previous employment, or are working more than 35 hours per week but are receiving wages that put them at or below the national poverty level.

The survey also shows that of those who are employed but who are looking for better jobs, almost 80% have an education beyond high school, including almost 20% with associate degrees, 26.5% with bachelor’s degrees, and 13.3% with masters or doctorates.

Of those who identify as unemployed, 47% have an education beyond high school.

“Which begs the question, why can’t these people find jobs if they have the requisite training and there’s all these openings?” Fox said.

“I think a lot of it is just simply due to familiarity with business norms and protocols. They don’t know how to get into the system,” he said.

Fox has previously collaborated with a number of area resources to offer a program to “explore manufacturing,” to work on interviewing techniques, marketing yourself to an employer, building a resume and more.

“But we haven’t had anybody take us up on that yet,” he said.

Although no one took the program when it was offered last year, Fox said he is still willing to help people apply for the relatively high-paying manufacturing jobs in the community.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the second quarters of 2024 the average weekly manufacturing wage in Floyd county was $1,428, or $74,256 annually. Floyd County regularly ranks near or in the top 10 Iowa counties for average manufacturing wage, according to information from Fox.

“There are avenues for employment and better employment if you’re willing to be versed on how the system works,” Fox said.

The full Charles City Laborshed Analysis is available here: https://bit.ly/CCLaborshed.