Work & commute · WaKeeney

Work & commute in WaKeeney, KS

42% of WaKeeney’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Hays (11%), Quinter (3%) and Hill City (3%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

329 of 778 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 449 WaKeeney residents head out of town to work, 329 work right here, and 534 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in WaKeeney.

449live here, work elsewhere

329live and work here

534work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where WaKeeney goes to work

WaKeeney (in town)right here

42%329

Hays31.6 mi away

11%83

Quinter19.2 mi away

3%21

Hill City24 mi away

3%21

WaKeeney7.1 mi away

2%14

Ness City39.4 mi away

1%11

Norton56.2 mi away

1%9

Wichita165.3 mi away

1%9

Big Creek29.1 mi away

1%9

Oakley52.2 mi away

1%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%264

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

How far

How far WaKeeney commutes

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

45%

20%

26%

45%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

WaKeeney is balanced between jobs and homes

1.11jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.11 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in WaKeeney are

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

Jobs based in WaKeeney

863 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities29%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs WaKeeney residents hold

778 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month45%

−19%

Jobs based in WaKeeney, 2013 → 2023: 1,067 → 863. 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.