Work & commute · Lexington

Work & commute in Lexington, MO

Most working residents leave Lexington for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are Kansas City (14%), Higginsville (9%) and Independence (5%). Half commute less than 27 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

249 of 1,849 working residents

Typical commute

27 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 1,600 Lexington residents head out of town to work, 249 work right here, and 1,181 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lexington.

1,600live here, work elsewhere

249live and work here

1,181work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lexington goes to work

Kansas City36.7 mi away

14%250

Lexington (in town)right here

13%249

Higginsville11 mi away

9%170

Independence26.7 mi away

5%96

Blue Springs24.3 mi away

4%70

Richmond8.6 mi away

4%66

Lee's Summit32.9 mi away

3%55

Claycomo32.7 mi away

2%38

Wellington6.8 mi away

2%37

Odessa13.5 mi away

2%31

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%787

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

How far

How far Lexington commutes

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

23%

25%

38%

13%

23%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

38%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lexington is balanced between jobs and homes

0.77jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lexington are

1,430 jobs are based in Lexington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lexington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lexington

1,430 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)87%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Lexington residents hold

1,849 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−17%

Jobs based in Lexington, 2013 → 2023: 1,726 → 1,430. 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.