Work and commuting in Ames
Hardly any work in Ames itself; outside it, Concordia draws the most (25%, 10 miles). Working from home is the commute for 33% of workers, next to 12% for Kansas as a whole. No jobs are based in Ames in the Census job records; 12 of its residents work elsewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Ames
On a workday 12 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9 people are in Ames on a workday afternoon, 57% fewer than live here.
0.00 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.
Where people from Ames work
Where Ames clocks in
25% 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.
Working from home in Ames
of Ames workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8 commuters (the 33% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Ames
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 Ames: questions
What is the poverty rate in Ames?
57.1%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Ames work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Concordia (25%, 10 mi), Palmer (8%, 17 mi), Clyde (8%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ames without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ames, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ames
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.