Work & commute · Columbus

Work & commute in Columbus, KS

About one in 4 of Columbus’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Pittsburg (12%), Joplin (12%) and Parsons (5%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

329 of 1,300 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 971 Columbus residents head out of town to work, 329 work right here, and 1,098 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbus.

971live here, work elsewhere

329live and work here

1,098work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbus goes to work

Columbus (in town)right here

25%329

Pittsburg18.5 mi away

12%154

Joplin, MO20 mi away

12%150

Parsons25.7 mi away

5%62

Baxter Springs12.1 mi away

3%39

Galena13.3 mi away

2%31

Miami, OK19.7 mi away

2%31

Fort Scott46 mi away

2%30

Ross7.4 mi away

2%26

Wichita142 mi away

2%23

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%425

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

How far

How far Columbus commutes

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

29%

41%

12%

18%

29%Under 10 mi

41%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbus is balanced between jobs and homes

1.10jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.10 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbus are

1,427 jobs are based in Columbus. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbus

1,427 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Columbus residents hold

1,300 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−1%

Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 1,439 → 1,427. 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.