Work & commute · Liberty

Work & commute in Liberty, MO

Most working residents leave Liberty for work: only 18% work in town. The top destinations are Kansas City (33%), North Kansas City (4%) and Independence (4%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18%

2,683 of 14,988 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 12,305 Liberty residents head out of town to work, 2,683 work right here, and 17,557 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Liberty.

12,305live here, work elsewhere

2,683live and work here

17,557work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Liberty goes to work

Kansas City10.7 mi away

33%4,986

Liberty (in town)right here

18%2,683

North Kansas City10.5 mi away

4%586

Independence11.4 mi away

4%551

Claycomo4.3 mi away

3%506

Kansas City, KS19.1 mi away

3%505

Lee's Summit22.2 mi away

3%393

Overland Park, KS28.4 mi away

2%364

Blue Springs17.8 mi away

2%267

St. Joseph41.7 mi away

1%208

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%3,939

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

How far

How far Liberty commutes

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

38%

42%

10%

38%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Liberty is balanced between jobs and homes

1.35jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Liberty are

20,240 jobs are based in Liberty. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Liberty’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Liberty

20,240 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Liberty residents hold

14,988 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+24%

Jobs based in Liberty, 2013 → 2023: 16,376 → 20,240. 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.