For more than half of its working residents, Center Township is a commute to Smith Center
Center Township grades C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns. For 3% of workers, the job is at home, 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
Center Township at work: what stands out
Most jobs in Center Township go to people who live here
Of the 877 jobs based in Center Township, 46% are held by Center Township residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Center Township 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 ↓
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 784 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Center Township’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Center Township is better than 19% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Center Township’s grade up (8.2%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down.
Unemployment (1.0%) is left out: Center Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Center Township could be anywhere from D to C.
Out of Center Township to work: where people go
Where Center Township clocks in
51% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Who leaves Center Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 377 residents head out to work, 407 work right here, and 470 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 (1.12 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.
Each way, about 12 minutes from Center Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Center Township workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 802 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 877 jobs based in Center Township
877 jobs are based in Center Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Center Township, 2013 → 2023: 880 → 877. 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 Center Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Center Township
About 27% 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.
Most trips from Center Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Center Township is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Center Township 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 829 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). 3.2% of Center Township households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Center Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Center Township next to U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400: 4,383rd of 6,085 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Lexington Township KS | 1,512 | $135K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Westwood KS | 1,720 | $118K | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,381 | Anza CA | 1,898 | $84K | 10.5% | 11.1% | 7% | C− |
| 4,382 | Broadway NC | 1,380 | $65K | 20.5% | 4.1% | 1% | C− |
| 4,383 | Center Township KS | 1,778 | $56K | 8.2% | 1.0% | 52% | C− |
| 4,384 | Inverness Township MI | 2,173 | $56K | 8.7% | 3.6% | 3% | C− |
| 4,385 | Salisbury NY | 1,837 | $82K | 18.1% | 2.4% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Center Township, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Next door to Center Township
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Center Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Township | – | C− | B+ | 12 min | $56,354 |
| Lane Township | under 2% | — | — | 56 min | — |
| Blaine Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Washington Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Banner Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lane Township, Blaine Township, Washington Township and Banner Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Center Township’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 Center Township: questions
What is the median household income in Center Township?
$56,354 (±$3,634) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Center Township?
8.2%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Center Township?
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 Center Township work?
52% work in town.
Is Center Township walkable?
Center Township is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Center Township 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 Center Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Center Township
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.