Work & commute · Clay Center

Work & commute in Clay Center, KS

47% of Clay Center’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Manhattan (7%), Topeka (4%) and Salina (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

47%

842 of 1,775 working residents

Typical commute

2 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 933 Clay Center residents head out of town to work, 842 work right here, and 1,151 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Clay Center.

933live here, work elsewhere

842live and work here

1,151work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Clay Center goes to work

Clay Center (in town)right here

47%842

Manhattan30.9 mi away

7%128

Topeka80.3 mi away

4%64

Salina47.1 mi away

3%46

Junction City28.5 mi away

2%39

Wichita117.5 mi away

2%31

Concordia30.5 mi away

1%24

Overland Park134.9 mi away

1%22

Emporia84.2 mi away

1%20

Lawrence103.9 mi away

1%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%542

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

How far

How far Clay Center commutes

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

53%

21%

53%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Clay 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 Clay Center are

1,993 jobs are based in Clay Center. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Clay Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Clay Center

1,993 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs Clay Center residents hold

1,775 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month47%

−16%

Jobs based in Clay Center, 2013 → 2023: 2,380 → 1,993. 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.