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Work & commute in Wellington · A commuter town

99% of Wellington’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Wellington for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Wellington (31%), Wichita (24%) and Riverside (4%). Half commute less than 27 miles.

Work in town
1%
1 of 124 working residents
Typical commute
27 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
21 min
More than KS (20 min)
Work from home
0%
Less than KS (12%)
Jobs based here
52
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Wellington?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

31% of working residents work in Wellington

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Andale: 2 residents work here (2%)Belle PlaineSedanCaldwell: 2 residents work here (2%)KinsleyPhillipsburgMulvaneWellington: 39 residents work here (31%)Park CityArkansas CityWinfield: 2 residents work here (2%)Salina: 2 residents work here (2%)Wichita: 30 residents work here (24%)Overland ParkTopeka: 2 residents work here (2%)JacksonRockford: 4 residents work here (3%)Waco: 3 residents work here (2%)Riverside: 5 residents work here (4%)OsborneSeventy-SixWellingtonAvonWellingtonWichitaRiversideRockfordWacoAndaleWellington
1
Wellington1.8 mi away
31%39
2
Wichita30.3 mi away
24%30
3
Riverside24 mi away
4%5
4
Rockford21.9 mi away
3%4
5
Waco23.8 mi away
2%3
6
Andale38.7 mi away
2%2
7
Caldwell18.3 mi away
2%2
8
Winfield24.5 mi away
2%2
9
Salina108.1 mi away
2%2
10
Topeka154.7 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
27%33
The top trips

Where Wellington clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

Wellington quiets down on a workday

On a workday 123 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 51 people come in from elsewhere.

123live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
51work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night150
Workday76
150live here− 120head out to work+ 51come in to work= 76on a workday

About 76 people are in Wellington on a workday afternoon, 49% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.42jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Wellington commutes less than 27 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miWellington: 31% · 1.8 miWichita: 24% · 30.3 miRiverside: 4% · 24 miRockford: 3% · 21.9 miWaco: 2% · 23.8 miAndale: 2% · 38.7 miCaldwell: 2% · 18.3 miWinfield: 2% · 24.5 miSalina: 2% · 108.1 miTopeka: 2% · 154.7 miWellington 31%Wichita 24%Riverside 4%Rockford 3%Waco 2%Wellington
WellingtonTop destinations (size = commuters)
32%Under 10 mi40 residents
12%10–24 mi15 residents
36%25–50 mi45 residents
19%Over 50 mi24 residents

About 19% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

85% of the jobs in Wellington pay over $3,333 a month

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

Jobs based in WellingtonJobs Wellington residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms10%18%
Trade, transport & utilities54%27%
Services: health, schools, offices37%55%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less6%14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month10%37%
Over $3,333 a month85%49%

Who does it

29 or younger13%22%
30 to 5471%53%
55 and older15%25%
−19%

Jobs based in Wellington, 2013 → 2023: 64 → 52. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

About 21 minutes each way, about the KS average

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
160 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Wellington21 min
Kansas20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Wellington workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10

How Wellington ranks on commute time →

Next door

Wellington and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Wellington’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Wellington

Wellington home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Wellington, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Wellington worth it?

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Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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