Work & commute · Ottawa

Work & commute in Ottawa, KS

About one in 3 of Ottawa’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Olathe (6%), Overland Park (6%) and Lawrence (6%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31%

1,868 of 6,078 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,210 Ottawa residents head out of town to work, 1,868 work right here, and 4,277 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ottawa.

4,210live here, work elsewhere

1,868live and work here

4,277work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ottawa goes to work

Ottawa (in town)right here

31%1,868

Olathe30.9 mi away

6%385

Overland Park36.8 mi away

6%382

Lawrence25 mi away

6%370

Ottawa3.4 mi away

6%338

Topeka38.1 mi away

5%276

Lenexa35.4 mi away

4%214

Wichita129.6 mi away

2%151

Gardner23.3 mi away

2%146

Kansas City45.8 mi away

2%146

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%1,802

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

How far

How far Ottawa commutes

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

38%

13%

35%

14%

38%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

35%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ottawa is balanced between jobs and homes

1.01jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.01 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ottawa are

6,145 jobs are based in Ottawa. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ottawa’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ottawa

6,145 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Ottawa residents hold

6,078 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities29%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+21%

Jobs based in Ottawa, 2013 → 2023: 5,075 → 6,145. 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.