Work & commute · Wathena

Work & commute in Wathena, KS

Most working residents leave Wathena for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are St. Joseph (38%), Kansas City (6%) and Troy (3%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

68 of 523 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 455 Wathena residents head out of town to work, 68 work right here, and 1,031 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wathena.

455live here, work elsewhere

68live and work here

1,031work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wathena goes to work

St. Joseph, MO5.6 mi away

38%199

Wathena (in town)right here

13%68

Kansas City, MO48.3 mi away

6%33

Troy9.1 mi away

3%15

Elwood1.9 mi away

3%14

Topeka64.9 mi away

2%13

Center9.5 mi away

2%10

Sabetha47.1 mi away

2%9

Olathe61 mi away

2%9

Atchison17.7 mi away

2%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%145

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

How far

How far Wathena commutes

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

59%

16%

20%

59%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wathena is a job hub

2.10jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wathena are

1,099 jobs are based in Wathena. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wathena’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wathena

1,099 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)49%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)27%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Wathena residents hold

523 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+132%

Jobs based in Wathena, 2013 → 2023: 474 → 1,099. 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.