Work & commute · Abilene

Work & commute in Abilene, KS

About one in 3 of Abilene’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Salina (14%), Lincoln (5%) and Manhattan (4%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

37%

1,059 of 2,838 working residents

Typical commute

11 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,779 Abilene residents head out of town to work, 1,059 work right here, and 1,615 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Abilene.

1,779live here, work elsewhere

1,059live and work here

1,615work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Abilene goes to work

Abilene (in town)right here

37%1,059

Salina22.1 mi away

14%404

Lincoln5.3 mi away

5%148

Manhattan38.1 mi away

4%106

Junction City21.4 mi away

4%101

Solomon7.6 mi away

3%88

Topeka82.7 mi away

3%88

Grant1.7 mi away

2%60

Wichita85.6 mi away

2%54

Chapman11.6 mi away

2%48

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%682

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Abilene commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

49%

24%

19%

49%Under 10 mi

24%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Abilene is balanced between jobs and homes

0.94jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Abilene are

2,674 jobs are based in Abilene. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Abilene’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Abilene

2,674 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Abilene residents hold

2,838 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−24%

Jobs based in Abilene, 2013 → 2023: 3,514 → 2,674. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.