Work & commute · Washington

Work & commute in Washington, KS

Most working residents leave Washington for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are St. Joseph (38%), Wathena (14%) and Kansas City (6%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

212 of 1,233 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 1,021 Washington residents head out of town to work, 212 work right here, and 1,109 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Washington.

1,021live here, work elsewhere

212live and work here

1,109work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Washington goes to work

St. Joseph, MO6.5 mi away

38%467

Wathena1.3 mi away

14%173

Kansas City, MO49.6 mi away

6%70

Topeka65.2 mi away

3%37

Elwood3.1 mi away

3%36

Troy8.1 mi away

3%32

Kansas City46.4 mi away

2%29

Center8.4 mi away

2%20

Atchison18 mi away

2%19

Overland Park62.7 mi away

2%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%331

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

How far

How far Washington commutes

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

56%

13%

22%

56%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Washington is balanced between jobs and homes

1.07jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.07 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Washington are

1,321 jobs are based in Washington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Washington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Washington

1,321 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)44%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)30%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Washington residents hold

1,233 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+26%

Jobs based in Washington, 2013 → 2023: 1,047 → 1,321. 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.