Work & commute · Emporia

Work & commute in Emporia, KS

60% of Emporia’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Wichita (5%), Topeka (4%) and Lawrence (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

60%

7,260 of 12,200 working residents

Typical commute

3 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 4,940 Emporia residents head out of town to work, 7,260 work right here, and 6,706 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Emporia.

4,940live here, work elsewhere

7,260live and work here

6,706work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Emporia goes to work

Emporia (in town)right here

60%7,260

Wichita79.8 mi away

5%588

Topeka51.3 mi away

4%546

Lawrence63.2 mi away

2%242

Overland Park87.8 mi away

2%237

Lenexa84.5 mi away

2%209

Manhattan58.6 mi away

1%167

Salina81.7 mi away

1%145

Kansas City92.7 mi away

1%127

Olathe81.2 mi away

1%127

Everywhere elseother towns and states

21%2,552

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

How far

How far Emporia commutes

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

60%

34%

60%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

34%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Emporia is balanced between jobs and homes

1.14jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.14 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Emporia are

13,966 jobs are based in Emporia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Emporia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Emporia

13,966 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Emporia residents hold

12,200 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+16%

Jobs based in Emporia, 2013 → 2023: 12,014 → 13,966. 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.