Work & commute · Oskaloosa

Work & commute in Oskaloosa, KS

Most working residents leave Oskaloosa for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Lawrence (24%), Topeka (12%) and Kansas City (5%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

33 of 502 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 469 Oskaloosa residents head out of town to work, 33 work right here, and 584 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oskaloosa.

469live here, work elsewhere

33live and work here

584work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oskaloosa goes to work

Lawrence17.9 mi away

24%121

Topeka24 mi away

12%60

Oskaloosa (in town)right here

7%33

Kansas City, MO41.4 mi away

5%26

Kansas City31.4 mi away

5%25

Olathe35.2 mi away

4%19

Overland Park40.4 mi away

4%18

Leavenworth22.1 mi away

3%17

Lecompton12.9 mi away

2%11

Shawnee30.5 mi away

2%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%161

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

How far

How far Oskaloosa commutes

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

12%

49%

32%

12%Under 10 mi

49%10–24 mi

32%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oskaloosa is balanced between jobs and homes

1.23jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.23 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Oskaloosa are

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

Jobs based in Oskaloosa

617 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Oskaloosa residents hold

502 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month59%

−5%

Jobs based in Oskaloosa, 2013 → 2023: 650 → 617. 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.