Work & commute · Independent

Work & commute in Independent, KS

Most working residents leave Independent for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Great Bend (21%), Ellinwood (16%) and Great Bend (7%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10 of 281 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 271 Independent residents head out of town to work, 10 work right here, and 142 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Independent.

271live here, work elsewhere

10live and work here

142work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Independent goes to work

Great Bend20.6 mi away

21%58

Ellinwood14.9 mi away

16%46

Great Bend16.3 mi away

7%19

Wichita88.2 mi away

6%16

Hoisington14 mi away

4%11

Claflin3 mi away

4%10

South Bend22.2 mi away

4%10

Hays48.1 mi away

2%7

Lorraine11.3 mi away

2%6

Ellsworth19.8 mi away

2%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%92

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

How far

How far Independent commutes

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

65%

11%

18%

6%Under 10 mi

65%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Independent is a commuter town

0.54jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Independent are

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

Jobs based in Independent

152 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities57%

Services (health, schools, offices…)23%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Independent residents hold

281 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+12%

Jobs based in Independent, 2013 → 2023: 136 → 152. 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.