Work & commute · Kentucky

Work & commute in Kentucky, KS

Most working residents leave Kentucky for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Topeka (26%), Lawrence (18%) and Perry (6%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

53 of 777 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 724 Kentucky residents head out of town to work, 53 work right here, and 474 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kentucky.

724live here, work elsewhere

53live and work here

474work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kentucky goes to work

Topeka15.5 mi away

26%202

Lawrence12.3 mi away

18%138

Perry2.1 mi away

6%43

Oskaloosa10 mi away

4%30

Overland Park41.5 mi away

3%23

Kansas City, MO46.5 mi away

3%23

Kansas City36.2 mi away

2%18

Olathe35.2 mi away

2%16

Lenexa34.1 mi away

2%15

Soldier13.8 mi away

2%15

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%254

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

How far

How far Kentucky commutes

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

18%

52%

21%

18%Under 10 mi

52%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kentucky is a commuter town

0.68jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Kentucky are

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

Jobs based in Kentucky

527 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)48%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)37%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Kentucky residents hold

777 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+26%

Jobs based in Kentucky, 2013 → 2023: 417 → 527. 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.