Work & commute · Houston

Work & commute in Houston, KS

Most working residents leave Houston for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Smith Center (14%), Lebanon (5%) and Phillipsburg (5%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 57 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 54 Houston residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 30 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Houston.

54live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

30work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Houston goes to work

Smith Center12.3 mi away

14%8

Lebanon22.1 mi away

5%3

Phillipsburg25 mi away

5%3

Manhattan125.2 mi away

5%3

Kensington13.1 mi away

4%2

Mankato37.9 mi away

4%2

Downs19.6 mi away

4%2

Wichita156.8 mi away

4%2

Houston (in town)right here

4%2

Swan19 mi away

4%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%28

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

How far

How far Houston commutes

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

11%

33%

21%

35%

11%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Houston is a commuter town

0.58jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Houston are

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

Jobs based in Houston

33 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities48%

Services (health, schools, offices…)27%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month58%

Over $3,333 a month18%

Jobs Houston residents hold

57 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities32%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month42%

+38%

Jobs based in Houston, 2013 → 2023: 24 → 33. 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.