Work & commute · Merriam

Work & commute in Merriam, KS

Most working residents leave Merriam for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Overland Park (21%), Kansas City (16%) and Lenexa (11%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

323 of 5,921 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,598 Merriam residents head out of town to work, 323 work right here, and 11,649 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Merriam.

5,598live here, work elsewhere

323live and work here

11,649work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Merriam goes to work

Overland Park8.9 mi away

21%1,224

Kansas City, MO10.7 mi away

16%922

Lenexa6.9 mi away

11%653

Kansas City7.7 mi away

11%623

Olathe11.6 mi away

8%465

Merriam (in town)right here

5%323

Shawnee6 mi away

5%280

Leawood8.5 mi away

3%159

Mission2.1 mi away

2%136

Lawrence31 mi away

2%94

Everywhere elseother towns and states

18%1,042

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

How far

How far Merriam commutes

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

63%

27%

63%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Merriam is a job hub

2.02jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Merriam are

11,972 jobs are based in Merriam. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Merriam’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Merriam

11,972 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Merriam residents hold

5,921 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month64%

+11%

Jobs based in Merriam, 2013 → 2023: 10,746 → 11,972. 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.