Work & commute · Lee's Summit

Work & commute in Lee's Summit, MO

About one in 5 of Lee's Summit’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Kansas City (31%), Overland Park (7%) and Independence (5%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

9,829 of 48,826 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 38,997 Lee's Summit residents head out of town to work, 9,829 work right here, and 32,375 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lee's Summit.

38,997live here, work elsewhere

9,829live and work here

32,375work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lee's Summit goes to work

Kansas City16.6 mi away

31%14,909

Lee's Summit (in town)right here

20%9,829

Overland Park, KS16.6 mi away

7%3,218

Independence11.5 mi away

5%2,554

Blue Springs8.9 mi away

3%1,519

Lenexa, KS22.7 mi away

3%1,310

Kansas City, KS23.7 mi away

3%1,291

Olathe, KS23.6 mi away

2%864

Grandview7.9 mi away

2%747

Raytown6.5 mi away

1%639

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%11,946

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

How far

How far Lee's Summit commutes

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

35%

48%

10%

35%Under 10 mi

48%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lee's Summit is balanced between jobs and homes

0.86jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.86 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lee's Summit are

42,204 jobs are based in Lee's Summit. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lee's Summit’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lee's Summit

42,204 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Lee's Summit residents hold

48,826 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+18%

Jobs based in Lee's Summit, 2013 → 2023: 35,680 → 42,204. 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.