Cheney has lower unemployment (0.6%) than 97% of U.S. towns
About one in seven stay in Cheney for work; outside it, Wichita is the main destination (36%, 24 miles). Jobs and income earn Cheney A−; getting around on foot earns it A−. The trip to work takes 25 minutes on average, next to 20 for Kansas and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Cheney apart
Cheney and Wichita trade workers both ways
Wichita is the top workplace for Cheney residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Cheney come from (21% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Cheney workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 25 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 192 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical 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 921 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Cheney’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cheney is better than 80% of U.S. towns. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 53% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cheney could be anywhere from B to A.
Where Cheney’s working residents head each day
Where Cheney clocks in
36% 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.
About 25 minutes each way, longer than most of Kansas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cheney workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,058 commuters (the 9% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Cheney
On a workday 772 residents head out to work, 149 work right here, and 501 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Cheney on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.71 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.
Inside Cheney’s 650 jobs
650 jobs are based in Cheney.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cheney, 2013 → 2023: 658 → 650. 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 Cheney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Cheney commutes
About 15% 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.
Cheney is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cheney is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Cheney 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 1,161 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.7% of Cheney households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Cheney’s commuters take a bus or train.
Cheney next to U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900: 744th of 5,404 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Lexington Township KS | 1,512 | $135K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Westwood KS | 1,720 | $118K | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 742 | Harmony Township OH | 2,658 | $118K | 8.3% | 1.2% | 1% | A− |
| 743 | Windsor Township PA | 2,585 | $99K | 7.3% | 2.8% | 4% | A− |
| 744 | Cheney KS | 2,178 | $85K | 6.9% | 0.6% | 16% | A− |
| 745 | Marathon City WI | 1,547 | $90K | 3.9% | 0.4% | 15% | A− |
| 746 | Madison Township IN | 1,788 | $101K | 5.8% | 0.0% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | 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 Cheney, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
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 Cheney: questions
What is the median household income in Cheney?
$85,313 (±$14,101) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cheney?
6.9%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cheney?
25 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cheney work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wichita (36%, 24 mi), Waco Township (5%, 19 mi), Goddard (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cheney walkable?
Cheney is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cheney without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cheney, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cheney
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.