Work & commute · Center

Work & commute in Center, KS

52% of Center’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Smith Center (51%), Wichita (3%) and Kensington (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

52%

407 of 784 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

12 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 377 Center residents head out of town to work, 407 work right here, and 470 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Center.

377live here, work elsewhere

407live and work here

470work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Center goes to work

Smith Center0.8 mi away

51%399

Wichita164.2 mi away

3%22

Kensington13.3 mi away

3%20

Hays68.7 mi away

3%20

Osborne24.3 mi away

2%16

Phillipsburg28.6 mi away

2%15

Glade28.9 mi away

2%13

Kearney, NE65.2 mi away

2%12

Beloit42.2 mi away

1%11

Natoma43.2 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%248

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.

54%

10%

27%

54%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Center is balanced between jobs and homes

1.12jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.12 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Center are

877 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

877 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities31%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Center residents hold

784 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month41%

−0%

Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 880 → 877. 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.