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Work & commute in Bala · Balanced

100% of Bala’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Bala for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Manhattan (43%), Leonardville (7%) and Westmoreland (7%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 14 working residents
Typical commute
22 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Jobs based here
16
Balanced

What kind of work town is Bala?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

43% of working residents work in Manhattan

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

ThorntonChattahoocheeLeonardville: 1 residents work here (7%)Westmoreland: 1 residents work here (7%)RileyClay CenterJunction City: 1 residents work here (7%)Manhattan: 6 residents work here (43%)Topeka: 1 residents work here (7%)Kansas City: 1 residents work here (7%)Olathe: 1 residents work here (7%)Fancy CreekShermanWildcat: 1 residents work here (7%)MarionFranklin: 1 residents work here (7%)SoldierBalaManhattanLeonardvilleWestmorelandJunction CityTopekaKansas CityBala
1
Manhattan20.3 mi away
43%6
2
Leonardville6.1 mi away
7%1
3
Westmoreland29.2 mi away
7%1
4
Junction City20.3 mi away
7%1
5
Topeka69.8 mi away
7%1
6
Kansas City118.9 mi away
7%1
7
Olathe118 mi away
7%1
8
Wildcat14.3 mi away
7%1
9
Franklin44.9 mi away
7%1
The top trips

Where Bala clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 14 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 16 people come in from elsewhere.

14live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
16work here, live elsewhere
Job hub or commuter town?
1.14jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.14 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.

How far

Half of Bala commutes less than 22 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miManhattan: 43% · 20.3 miLeonardville: 7% · 6.1 miWestmoreland: 7% · 29.2 miJunction City: 7% · 20.3 miTopeka: 7% · 69.8 miKansas City: 7% · 118.9 miOlathe: 7% · 118 miWildcat: 7% · 14.3 miFranklin: 7% · 44.9 miManhattan 43%Leonardville 7%Junction City 7%Bala
BalaTop destinations (size = commuters)
7%Under 10 mi1 residents
57%10–24 mi8 residents
14%25–50 mi2 residents
21%Over 50 mi3 residents

About 21% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Bala makes things: 100% of its jobs are in goods

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

Jobs based in BalaJobs Bala residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms100%21%
Trade, transport & utilities0%36%
Services: health, schools, offices0%43%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less25%0%
$1,251–$3,333 a month56%36%
Over $3,333 a month19%64%

Who does it

29 or younger50%14%
30 to 5419%43%
55 and older31%43%
−6%

Jobs based in Bala, 2013 → 2023: 17 → 16. 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.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Bala

Bala home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Bala, from the people who make the trip.

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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.

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