Work & commute · Smith

Work & commute in Smith, KS

Most working residents leave Smith for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Colby (26%), Hays (5%) and Oakley (4%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

12%

14 of 113 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 99 Smith residents head out of town to work, 14 work right here, and 154 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Smith.

99live here, work elsewhere

14live and work here

154work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Smith goes to work

Colby15.1 mi away

26%29

Smith (in town)right here

12%14

Hays86.2 mi away

5%6

Oakley21.6 mi away

4%5

North Randall9.2 mi away

4%5

Hoxie18.3 mi away

4%4

Garden City100.6 mi away

4%4

South Randall16.4 mi away

4%4

Kingery30.9 mi away

3%3

Brewster32.8 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%37

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

How far

How far Smith commutes

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

17%

42%

12%

29%

17%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Smith is balanced between jobs and homes

1.49jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.49 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Smith are

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

Jobs based in Smith

168 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)82%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)2%

$1,250 a month or less5%

$1,251–$3,333 a month12%

Over $3,333 a month83%

Jobs Smith residents hold

113 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)42%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month51%

+282%

Jobs based in Smith, 2013 → 2023: 44 → 168. 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.