Work & commute · Smolan

Work & commute in Smolan, KS

Most working residents leave Smolan for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Salina (53%), McPherson (3%) and Topeka (3%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

8 of 275 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 267 Smolan residents head out of town to work, 8 work right here, and 1,288 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Smolan.

267live here, work elsewhere

8live and work here

1,288work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Smolan goes to work

Salina5.8 mi away

53%145

McPherson25.3 mi away

3%8

Topeka107.5 mi away

3%8

Smolan (in town)right here

3%8

Hutchinson48.4 mi away

3%7

Liberty8.5 mi away

3%7

McPherson23.4 mi away

3%7

Manhattan64.6 mi away

2%6

Abilene26.5 mi away

2%5

Junction City47.8 mi away

2%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

25%69

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

How far

How far Smolan commutes

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

58%

13%

11%

18%

58%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Smolan is a job hub

4.71jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Smolan are

1,296 jobs are based in Smolan. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Smolan’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Smolan

1,296 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)70%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)10%

$1,250 a month or less5%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month75%

Jobs Smolan residents hold

275 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−40%

Jobs based in Smolan, 2013 → 2023: 2,174 → 1,296. 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.