Photo: Shamera · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Burlington trail those of 87% of U.S. towns
16.8% of residents are in poverty, where Kansas as a whole has 11.3%. The two grades for Burlington are D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers, where Kansas as a whole has 12%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Burlington stands out on work
Fewer jobs are based in Burlington than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Burlington fell from 2,659 in 2013 to 1,269 in 2023, −52%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
37% 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 ↓
Commutes from Burlington are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 20 across Kansas. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kansas worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Burlington 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 ↓
Nearly all the work in Burlington is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Burlington’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Burlington is better than 7% of U.S. towns, #149 of 151 in Kansas. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Burlington’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Burlington could be anywhere from D− to C.
In Burlington, services account for most jobs
1,269 jobs are based in Burlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burlington, 2013 → 2023: 2,659 → 1,269. 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 Burlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Burlington works
About 37% 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.
About 15 minutes to work from Burlington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burlington workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,018 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.
The daily commute in and out of Burlington
On a workday 829 residents head out to work, 434 work right here, and 835 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.00 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.
8% of working residents work in Hampden Township
Where Burlington clocks in
6% of workers
6% 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.
Most of Burlington commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Burlington is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #79 of 151 in Kansas. Both inputs place Burlington near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,054 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.6% of Burlington households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Burlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Burlington and other U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Minneha Township KS | 3,472 | $143K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,811 | Mansfield PA | 2,937 | $48K | 25.1% | 6.1% | 17% | D |
| 4,812 | Sisseton SD | 2,413 | $49K | 18.7% | 6.1% | 51% | D |
| 4,813 | Burlington KS | 2,640 | $51K | 16.8% | 6.9% | 34% | D |
| 4,814 | Marlette MI | 1,833 | $49K | 18.0% | 10.3% | 20% | D |
| 4,815 | Mayville ND | 1,807 | $56K | 19.0% | 5.2% | 41% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,278 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Burlington, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Next door to Burlington
The biggest share goes to Hampden Township (8%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burlington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | – | D | B− | 15 min | $50,882 |
| Burlington Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Hampden Township | 8% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Burlington Township and Hampden Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Burlington’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Burlington: questions
What is the median household income in Burlington?
$50,882 (±$13,781) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burlington?
16.8%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burlington?
15 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burlington work?
34% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hampden Township (8%, 4 mi), Topeka (6%, 58 mi), Wichita (6%, 94 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Burlington walkable?
Burlington is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burlington without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burlington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burlington
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.