Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Chanute have lower incomes than those in 87% of U.S. towns
3% of workers work from home (Kansas 12%). 17.3% of residents live below the poverty line (Kansas 11.3%). Jobs and income earn Chanute D; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Chanute apart
Commutes from Chanute are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 20 across Kansas. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kansas worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Chanute 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.
Where Chanute’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chanute is better than 14% of U.S. towns, #145 of 151 in Kansas. Unemployment holds Chanute’s grade up (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($50,882, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chanute could be anywhere from D to C+.
Chanute’s commute takes about 13 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chanute workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,805 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.
Chanute by day and by night
On a workday 1,665 residents head out to work, 1,800 work right here, and 3,177 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Chanute on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 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.
Where Chanute goes to work
Where Chanute clocks in
4% of workers
4% 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.
Goods, not services: 28% of the jobs in Chanute
4,977 jobs are based in Chanute.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chanute, 2013 → 2023: 4,811 → 4,977. 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 Chanute’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Chanute
About 20% 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.
Chanute is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chanute is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #68 of 151 in Kansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.4% across Kansas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,931 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). 5.2% of Chanute households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Chanute’s commuters take a bus or train.
Chanute next to U.S. towns of 6,000 to 11,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Tecumseh Township KS | 7,829 | $110K | 2.7% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 259 | Eudora Township KS | 7,870 | $119K | 4.6% | 2.3% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 360 | Eudora KS | 6,506 | $118K | 4.9% | 2.9% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,671 | Rayne LA | 6,995 | $42K | 25.5% | 7.2% | 11% | D |
| 2,672 | Merrydale LA | 9,490 | $42K | 30.0% | 19.5% | <1% | D |
| 2,673 | Chanute KS | 8,584 | $51K | 17.3% | 5.2% | 52% | D |
| 2,674 | Guadalupe CA | 8,846 | $67K | 27.7% | 14.4% | 7% | D |
| 2,675 | Brooksville FL | 10,145 | $55K | 19.7% | 7.3% | 15% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,944 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Chanute, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Chanute and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chanute workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chanute | – | D | B | 13 min | $50,882 |
| Tioga Township | under 2% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Canville Township | under 2% | — | — | 10 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Tioga Township and Canville Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chanute’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 Chanute: questions
What is the median household income in Chanute?
$50,882 (±$8,753) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chanute?
17.3%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chanute?
13 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chanute work?
52% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Humboldt (4%, 10 mi), Iola (4%, 18 mi), Parsons (3%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chanute walkable?
Chanute is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chanute without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chanute, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chanute
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.