Work & commute · Western

Work & commute in Western, KS

Most working residents leave Western for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Oakley (43%), Ulysses (10%) and Great Bend (10%). Half commute less than 37 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 21 working residents

Typical commute

37 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

— min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

30%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 21 Western residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 8 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Western.

21live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

8work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Western goes to work

Oakley34.3 mi away

43%9

Ulysses89.7 mi away

10%2

Great Bend144.8 mi away

10%2

Quinter63.9 mi away

5%1

Atwood67.3 mi away

5%1

WaKeeney82.2 mi away

5%1

Colby39.9 mi away

5%1

Topeka306.6 mi away

5%1

Lincoln, NE284 mi away

5%1

Smith51.1 mi away

5%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

5%1

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

How far

How far Western commutes

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

52%

43%

0%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

52%25–50 mi

43%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Western is a commuter town

0.38jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Western are

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

Jobs based in Western

8 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)100%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)0%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Western residents hold

21 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month43%

+167%

Jobs based in Western, 2013 → 2023: 3 → 8. 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.