Work & commute · Wakarusa

Work & commute in Wakarusa, KS

Most working residents leave Wakarusa for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Lawrence (39%), Overland Park (7%) and Topeka (6%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15 of 999 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 984 Wakarusa residents head out of town to work, 15 work right here, and 462 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wakarusa.

984live here, work elsewhere

15live and work here

462work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wakarusa goes to work

Lawrence2.6 mi away

39%389

Overland Park30 mi away

7%73

Topeka25.3 mi away

6%63

Olathe23.1 mi away

6%58

Kansas City, MO39.9 mi away

5%45

Lenexa24 mi away

4%42

Kansas City30.4 mi away

3%32

Baldwin City10.6 mi away

2%23

Shawnee24.5 mi away

2%19

Ottawa22.6 mi away

2%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%238

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

How far

How far Wakarusa commutes

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

47%

15%

31%

47%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

31%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wakarusa is a commuter town

0.48jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.48 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Wakarusa are

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

Jobs based in Wakarusa

477 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities62%

Services (health, schools, offices…)22%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Wakarusa residents hold

999 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month62%

−25%

Jobs based in Wakarusa, 2013 → 2023: 638 → 477. 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.