Work & commute · Manhattan

Work & commute in Manhattan, KS

Most working residents leave Manhattan for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Manhattan (56%), Topeka (6%) and Junction City (5%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

19 of 833 working residents

Typical commute

5 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 814 Manhattan residents head out of town to work, 19 work right here, and 861 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Manhattan.

814live here, work elsewhere

19live and work here

861work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Manhattan goes to work

Manhattan5.3 mi away

56%465

Topeka45.2 mi away

6%46

Junction City19 mi away

5%38

Manhattan (in town)right here

2%19

Emporia54 mi away

2%16

Blue9.6 mi away

2%14

Salina62.5 mi away

2%13

Riley19.4 mi away

1%10

Wamego12.6 mi away

1%10

St. George8.7 mi away

1%9

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%193

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

How far

How far Manhattan commutes

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

62%

10%

19%

62%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Manhattan is balanced between jobs and homes

1.06jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.06 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Manhattan are

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

Jobs based in Manhattan

880 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)61%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)30%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Manhattan residents hold

833 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month48%

−54%

Jobs based in Manhattan, 2013 → 2023: 1,919 → 880. 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.