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Jobs & commute in Ashland

Jobs, income and commuting in Ashland, KS

The average commute takes 12 minutes each way, where Kansas has 20 and the U.S. 26. 3% of workers have no commute at all, against 12% across Kansas. About one in five work in Ashland itself; outside it, Minneola draws the most (18%, 22 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out · In brief

Jobs and commuting in Ashland: the gist

Ashland and Minneola trade workers both ways

Minneola is the top workplace for Ashland residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Ashland come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓

Commutes from Ashland are quick

The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 20 across Kansas. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kansas worker. Time on the road ↓

Few Ashland workers work from home

Only 3% of workers work from home, against 12% across Kansas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 268 working residents, small shifts move the shares.

★ What stands out · The commute map

Where people from Ashland work

Minneola: 49 residents work here (18%)BucklinProtectionEnglewoodMeadeAshlandColdwaterGarden City: 5 residents work here (2%)Dodge City: 37 residents work here (14%)Wichita: 9 residents work here (3%)Englewood Township: 4 residents work here (1%)Copeland Township: 4 residents work here (1%)Appleton Township: 7 residents work here (3%)Dodge Township: 7 residents work here (3%)Lexington Township: 5 residents work here (2%)MinneolaDodge CityWichitaAppleton TownshipDodge TownshipGarden CityAshland
1
Ashland (in town)right here
21%55
2
Minneola22.1 mi away
18%49
3
Dodge City41.9 mi away
14%37
4
Wichita137.3 mi away
3%9
5
Appleton Township16.2 mi away
3%7
6
Dodge Township44.4 mi away
3%7
7
Garden City80.5 mi away
2%5
8
Lexington Township11.8 mi away
2%5
9
Englewood Township13.5 mi away
1%4
10
Copeland Township53.3 mi away
1%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
32%86
The top trips

Where Ashland clocks in

Lines 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.

Time on the road

Each way, about 12 minutes from Ashland

A year of commuting
90 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Ashland12 min
Kansas20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
3%

of Ashland workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Ashland gets to work
73%Drive alone
7%Carpool
15%Walk
1%Bike
4%Other

Share of the 397 commuters (the 3% 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.

Day and night

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 213 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 225 people come in from elsewhere.

213live here, work elsewhere
55live and work here
225work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night740
Workday760
740live here− 210head out to work+ 230come in to work= 760on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
1.04jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

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 jobs

Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Ashland

280 jobs are based in Ashland.

Jobs based in AshlandJobs Ashland residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms7%24%
Trade, transport & utilities11%14%
Services: health, schools, offices82%62%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less22%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month47%35%
Over $3,333 a month31%47%

Who does it

29 or younger19%22%
30 to 5442%49%
55 and older39%29%
+68%

Jobs based in Ashland, 2013 → 2023: 167 → 280. 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 Ashland’s own residents hold wherever they work.

How far

Near or far: the trip to work from Ashland

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miMinneola: 18% · 22.1 miDodge City: 14% · 41.9 miWichita: 3% · 137.3 miAppleton Township: 3% · 16.2 miDodge Township: 3% · 44.4 miGarden City: 2% · 80.5 miLexington Township: 2% · 11.8 miEnglewood Township: 1% · 13.5 miCopeland Township: 1% · 53.3 miMinneola 18%Dodge City 14%Wichita 3%Appleton Township 3%Dodge Township 3%Ashland
AshlandTop destinations (size = commuters)
25%Under 10 mi66 residents
28%10–24 mi75 residents
23%25–50 mi61 residents
24%Over 50 mi64 residents

About 24% 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Ashland: questions

What is the median household income in Ashland?

$62,596 (±$10,966) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Ashland?

5.0%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Ashland?

12 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Ashland work?

21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneola (18%, 22 mi), Dodge City (14%, 42 mi), Wichita (3%, 137 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Ashland without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Ashland, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Ashland

Ashland home →

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.