Work & commute · Paola

Work & commute in Paola, KS

About one in 5 of Paola’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Olathe (13%), Overland Park (10%) and Topeka (6%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21%

602 of 2,856 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 2,254 Paola residents head out of town to work, 602 work right here, and 2,767 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Paola.

2,254live here, work elsewhere

602live and work here

2,767work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Paola goes to work

Paola (in town)right here

21%602

Olathe21.1 mi away

13%384

Overland Park23.3 mi away

10%280

Topeka54.9 mi away

6%164

Lenexa26.9 mi away

5%157

Kansas City, MO41.3 mi away

4%115

Spring Hill12.5 mi away

4%100

Osawatomie7.2 mi away

3%91

Kansas City38.1 mi away

3%75

Gardner16.1 mi away

2%57

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%831

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

How far

How far Paola commutes

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

28%

31%

28%

13%

28%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Paola is balanced between jobs and homes

1.18jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.18 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Paola are

3,369 jobs are based in Paola. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Paola’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Paola

3,369 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Paola residents hold

2,856 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+4%

Jobs based in Paola, 2013 → 2023: 3,229 → 3,369. 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.