Work & commute · Imperial

Work & commute in Imperial, NE

42% of Imperial’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Wauneta (11%), Lincoln (4%) and North Platte (2%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

334 of 795 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

13 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 461 Imperial residents head out of town to work, 334 work right here, and 653 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Imperial.

461live here, work elsewhere

334live and work here

653work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Imperial goes to work

Imperial (in town)right here

42%334

Wauneta15.5 mi away

11%84

Lincoln260.9 mi away

4%29

North Platte62.7 mi away

2%16

Omaha296.2 mi away

2%16

Ogallala42.7 mi away

2%13

McCook57.6 mi away

1%11

Grand Island174 mi away

1%10

Grant23.3 mi away

1%9

Holyoke, CO34.9 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%267

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

How far

How far Imperial commutes

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

52%

18%

24%

52%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Imperial is balanced between jobs and homes

1.24jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Imperial are

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

Jobs based in Imperial

987 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities31%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Imperial residents hold

795 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−12%

Jobs based in Imperial, 2013 → 2023: 1,121 → 987. 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.