Cricket and Crest Tunnels Historic District · Photo: Tpartrige · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Omaha commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Commuters spend 29 minutes getting to work on average; the Arkansas average is 23, the U.S. 26. 12 jobs are based in Omaha, against 51 working residents. Hardly any stay in Omaha for work; outside it, Harrison is the main destination (39%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Omaha: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 51 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 12 people come in from elsewhere.
About 93 people are in Omaha on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Omaha’s residents
Where Omaha clocks in
39% of workers
8% of workers
2% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Jobs in Omaha: what the 12 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Omaha, 2013 → 2023: 58 → 12. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Omaha’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Omaha: about 29 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Omaha workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 45 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Arkansas: 87% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Near or far: the trip to work from Omaha
About 25% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Omaha: questions
What is the median household income in Omaha?
$30,833 (±$13,056) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Omaha?
14.4%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Omaha?
29 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Omaha work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harrison (39%, 16 mi), Branson (8%, 13 mi), Zinc (2%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Omaha without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Omaha, from the people who make the trip.
More of Omaha
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.