Work & commute · Central

Work & commute in Central, NE

About one in 3 of Central’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Grand Island (18%), Aurora (4%) and Lincoln (4%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31%

445 of 1,429 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 984 Central residents head out of town to work, 445 work right here, and 957 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Central.

984live here, work elsewhere

445live and work here

957work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Central goes to work

Central City (in town)right here

31%445

Grand Island22.9 mi away

18%260

Aurora17.2 mi away

4%58

Lincoln72.3 mi away

4%56

Hastings41.1 mi away

3%43

Omaha101.8 mi away

3%38

Lone Tree1.6 mi away

3%36

Columbus40.1 mi away

2%35

Kearney63.2 mi away

2%30

York27.1 mi away

2%25

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%403

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

How far

How far Central commutes

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

37%

29%

15%

19%

37%Under 10 mi

29%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Central is balanced between jobs and homes

0.98jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.98 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Central are

1,402 jobs are based in Central. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Central’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Central

1,402 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Central residents hold

1,429 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+32%

Jobs based in Central, 2013 → 2023: 1,064 → 1,402. 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.