Work & commute · Blue

Work & commute in Blue, KS

Most working residents leave Blue for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Manhattan (49%), Wamego (7%) and Topeka (6%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

57 of 2,213 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,156 Blue residents head out of town to work, 57 work right here, and 780 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Blue.

2,156live here, work elsewhere

57live and work here

780work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Blue goes to work

Manhattan7.5 mi away

49%1,094

Wamego12.7 mi away

7%144

Topeka47.6 mi away

6%142

Westmoreland10 mi away

3%70

Junction City24.6 mi away

3%62

Blue (in town)right here

3%57

Wichita118.4 mi away

2%44

Manhattan9.6 mi away

1%31

Salina66.6 mi away

1%29

Overland Park102.1 mi away

1%27

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%513

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

How far

How far Blue commutes

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

56%

17%

10%

17%

56%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Blue is a commuter town

0.38jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.38 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Blue are

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

Jobs based in Blue

837 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)53%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)33%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Blue residents hold

2,213 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+77%

Jobs based in Blue, 2013 → 2023: 474 → 837. 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.