Work & commute · Columbus

Work & commute in Columbus, NE

49% of Columbus’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Columbus (13%), Omaha (7%) and Lincoln (3%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

49%

6,027 of 12,251 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 6,224 Columbus residents head out of town to work, 6,027 work right here, and 7,692 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbus.

6,224live here, work elsewhere

6,027live and work here

7,692work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbus goes to work

Columbus (in town)right here

49%6,027

Columbus2.9 mi away

13%1,564

Omaha68.8 mi away

7%808

Lincoln56.1 mi away

3%318

Norfolk41 mi away

2%233

Fremont45.1 mi away

1%165

Schuyler15.4 mi away

1%104

David City17.5 mi away

1%82

Grand Island63 mi away

1%75

York41.1 mi away

1%64

Everywhere elseother towns and states

23%2,811

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

How far

How far Columbus commutes

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

63%

10%

19%

63%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbus is balanced between jobs and homes

1.12jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.12 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbus are

13,719 jobs are based in Columbus. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbus’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbus

13,719 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)38%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)43%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Columbus residents hold

12,251 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)44%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)39%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+8%

Jobs based in Columbus, 2013 → 2023: 12,665 → 13,719. 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.