Work & commute · Liberal

Work & commute in Liberal, KS

65% of Liberal’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Guymon (6%), Garden City (3%) and Wichita (2%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

65%

5,614 of 8,584 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 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 2,970 Liberal residents head out of town to work, 5,614 work right here, and 3,604 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Liberal.

2,970live here, work elsewhere

5,614live and work here

3,604work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Liberal goes to work

Liberal (in town)right here

65%5,614

Guymon, OK39.1 mi away

6%477

Garden City64.4 mi away

3%251

Wichita201.5 mi away

2%172

Liberal6 mi away

2%157

Dodge City70.2 mi away

2%143

Topeka316 mi away

1%86

Hugoton24.6 mi away

1%57

Hays154.1 mi away

1%50

Overland Park362.7 mi away

1%46

Everywhere elseother towns and states

18%1,531

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

How far

How far Liberal commutes

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

69%

10%

20%

69%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Liberal is balanced between jobs and homes

1.07jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.07 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Liberal are

9,218 jobs are based in Liberal. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Liberal’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Liberal

9,218 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)42%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)41%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Liberal residents hold

8,584 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)43%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)40%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−13%

Jobs based in Liberal, 2013 → 2023: 10,640 → 9,218. 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.