Jobs and earnings in Chetopa, and the trip to work
The average commute, 20 minutes each way, matches the Kansas norm. About one in seven stay in Chetopa for work; outside it, Parsons is the main destination (11%, 23 miles). Chetopa has 193 jobs, and 309 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Chetopa: the gist
Chetopa’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Chetopa is Parsons, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (33) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Chetopa than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Chetopa fell from 317 in 2013 to 193 in 2023, −39%. 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 ↓
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 309 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Miles to work from Chetopa
About 29% 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.
What Chetopa’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chetopa, 2013 → 2023: 317 → 193. 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 Chetopa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Chetopa
On a workday 268 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 152 people come in from elsewhere.
About 790 people are in Chetopa on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.62 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.
Where Chetopa’s working residents head each day
Where Chetopa clocks in
11% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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.
Commuting from Chetopa: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chetopa workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 218 commuters (the 8% 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.
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 Chetopa: questions
What is the median household income in Chetopa?
$25,288 (±$3,344) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chetopa?
37.2%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chetopa?
20 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chetopa work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Parsons (11%, 23 mi), Oswego (7%, 9 mi), Coffeyville (5%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Chetopa without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chetopa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chetopa
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.