More than half of Americus’ working residents commute to Emporia
A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes, where Kansas has 20 and the U.S. 26. Only 3% work in Americus itself; outside it, Emporia draws the most (51%, 8 miles). Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers, next to 12% for Kansas as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Americus in brief
More than half of Americus works in Emporia
199 working residents, 51%, have their main job in Emporia, 8 miles away. That’s 17 times as many as work in Americus itself. The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Americus’ working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 22 minutes, longer than the Kansas average of 20. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 391 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Americus’ working residents head each day
Where Americus clocks in
51% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
The commute from Americus, by distance
About 34% 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.
Commuting from Americus: about 22 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Americus workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 425 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Kansas: 85% 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.
Americus by day and by night
On a workday 379 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 124 people come in from elsewhere.
About 530 people are in Americus on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
0.35 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Americus
136 jobs are based in Americus.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Americus, 2013 → 2023: 132 → 136. 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 Americus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Americus: questions
What is the median household income in Americus?
$73,542 (±$16,896) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Americus?
11.0%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Americus?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Americus work?
3% work in town.
Can you get around Americus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Americus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Americus
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.