Work & commute · West Branch

Work & commute in West Branch, KS

Most working residents leave West Branch for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Wichita (12%), Newton (11%) and Hesston (8%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16 of 412 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 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 396 West Branch residents head out of town to work, 16 work right here, and 169 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Branch.

396live here, work elsewhere

16live and work here

169work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Branch goes to work

Wichita36 mi away

12%50

Newton12 mi away

11%44

Hesston7.7 mi away

8%34

Hillsboro11.7 mi away

7%27

Marion19.4 mi away

6%24

Peabody11.9 mi away

6%23

Florence21.1 mi away

5%22

Goessel3 mi away

4%16

Moundridge10.8 mi away

3%12

El Dorado36.5 mi away

3%11

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%149

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

How far

How far West Branch commutes

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

17%

43%

23%

16%

17%Under 10 mi

43%10–24 mi

23%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Branch is a commuter town

0.45jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Branch are

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

Jobs based in West Branch

185 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities4%

Services (health, schools, offices…)84%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs West Branch residents hold

412 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−13%

Jobs based in West Branch, 2013 → 2023: 212 → 185. 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.