LEHD Commuter Flows schema

The LEHD Commuter Flows dataset contains ~454K origin-destination pairs derived from Census Bureau LODES v8 (Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics). Each pair represents a commute flow between two H3 resolution-8 cells, enriched with income breakdowns, NAICS sector counts, and Codex-computed accessibility indices. Every record inherits the full APRS envelope (record_id, chunk_id, bitemporal fields, confidence_score, provenance) and carries the join keys documented below.

Dataset-specific fields

Flow identifiers

Field	Type	Nullable	Description
`origin_h3`	string	no	H3 resolution-8 cell of the workplace (derived from LODES `w_geocode`).
`destination_h3`	string	no	H3 resolution-8 cell of the residence (derived from LODES `h_geocode`).
`origin_block_fips`	string	no	Census block FIPS code (15-character) for the workplace. Retained as a Census-native identifier.
`destination_block_fips`	string	no	Census block FIPS code for the residence.
`metro_slug`	string	yes	Metro area identifier (derived from metro FIPS).

Worker counts

Field	Type	Nullable	Description
`worker_count`	integer	no	Total number of jobs (LODES `S000`).
`worker_count_lt30k`	integer	no	Jobs with earnings < $1,250/month (LODES `SE01`).
`worker_count_30to60k`	integer	no	Jobs with earnings $1,251–$ 3,333/month (LODES `SE02`).
`worker_count_gt60k`	integer	no	Jobs with earnings > $3,333/month (LODES `SE03`).
`income_band`	enum	no	Codex-derived dominant income band: `low`, `mid`, or `high`.
`job_sector_naics`	string	yes	NAICS sector code with aggregated counts (LODES `SI01`–`SI03`).

Codex enrichments

Field	Type	Nullable	Description
`accessibility_index`	float [0,1]	no	Codex-computed accessibility score per origin-destination H3 pair. Higher values indicate better transit and commute options.
`distance_km`	float	no	Centroid-to-centroid distance in kilometers between origin and destination H3 cells.
`h3_neighbor_rank`	integer	no	k-ring distance from origin to destination (0 = same cell, 1 = immediate neighbor, etc.).
`lehd_year`	integer	no	Reference year for the LODES data (e.g. `2023`).

Income bands

The income_band field is derived from the LODES earnings breakdown:

Band	Criterion
`low`	Plurality of workers earn < $1,250/month
`mid`	Plurality of workers earn $1,251–$ 3,333/month
`high`	Plurality of workers earn > $3,333/month

Accessibility index

The accessibility_index is a Codex-computed score that factors in transit coverage, commute distance, and commute volume between the origin and destination cells. It is useful for identifying well-connected corridors versus underserved commute routes.

Census LODES data includes noise infusion to protect respondent privacy. Codex preserves this noise as-is — small counts (under ~10 workers) may not reflect exact flows.

Join keys

Key	Presence	Notes
`record_id`	always	APRS URN
`chunk_id`	always	Deterministic from `record_id`
`origin_h3`	always	Join with Urban Signal Grid, POI Intelligence, or any H3-indexed dataset
`destination_h3`	always	Same as above
`origin_block_fips`	always	Census-native identifier for block-level joins
`destination_block_fips`	always	Same as above
`metro_slug`	often	Metro area identifier

Example query

Find the highest-volume commute corridors into a downtown cell:

SELECT
  origin_h3,
  destination_h3,
  worker_count,
  income_band,
  accessibility_index,
  distance_km
FROM read_parquet('lehd-commuter-flows-2026-04.parquet')
WHERE destination_h3 = '88283082b9fffff'
  AND worker_count >= 50
ORDER BY worker_count DESC
LIMIT 20;

Known limitations

LODES data lags by 2–3 years. The lehd_year field indicates the reference year — it does not reflect current conditions.
Census noise infusion means small cell-pair flows (under ~10 workers) carry significant uncertainty.
Block-level granularity is collapsed to H3 resolution 8. Multiple Census blocks may map to the same H3 cell.
metro_slug is null for flows in rural areas outside defined metro boundaries.

Get started

Frameworks

Reference

Dataset-specific fields

Flow identifiers

Worker counts

Codex enrichments

Income bands

Accessibility index

Join keys

Example query

Known limitations

​Dataset-specific fields

​Flow identifiers

​Worker counts

​Codex enrichments

​Income bands

​Accessibility index

​Join keys

​Example query

​Known limitations

Dataset-specific fields

Flow identifiers

Worker counts

Codex enrichments

Income bands

Accessibility index

Join keys

Example query

Known limitations