Work & commute · Center

Work & commute in Center, KS

42% of Center’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Ness City (41%), Ransom (11%) and Bazine (5%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

210 of 501 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 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 291 Center residents head out of town to work, 210 work right here, and 365 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Center.

291live here, work elsewhere

210live and work here

365work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Center goes to work

Ness City4.4 mi away

41%207

Ransom9.8 mi away

11%56

Bazine10 mi away

5%25

Nevada8.9 mi away

3%16

Copeland76 mi away

2%11

Wichita147.8 mi away

2%8

Center (in town)right here

2%8

Ohio17.3 mi away

2%8

Dodge City52.3 mi away

1%7

Garden City65.1 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%149

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

How far

How far Center commutes

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

45%

22%

24%

45%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Center is balanced between jobs and homes

1.15jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Center are

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

Jobs based in Center

575 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Center residents hold

501 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month47%

−23%

Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 750 → 575. 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.