Work means Wichita for about half of Derby’s working residents
Commuters spend 23 minutes getting to work on average; the Kansas average is 20, the U.S. 26. Derby grades A− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. About one in seven stay in Derby for work; outside it, Wichita is the main destination (49%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Derby: the gist
The better-paid jobs are outside Derby
60% of Derby residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 36% of the jobs based in Derby pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 85% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Derby pay little
27% of the jobs based in Derby pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 33% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Derby
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Derby is better than 76% of U.S. towns, #43 of 151 in Kansas. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 77% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Derby could be anywhere from B to A.
The places Derby commutes to
Where Derby clocks in
49% of workers
7% 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.
Jobs in Derby: what the 7,246 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Derby, 2013 → 2023: 5,436 → 7,246. 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 Derby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Derby
On a workday 9,465 residents head out to work, 1,606 work right here, and 5,640 people come in from elsewhere.
About 23,000 people are in Derby on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
How long Derby spends getting to work: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Derby workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,696 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Derby
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.
In Derby, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Derby is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #101 of 151 in Kansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 12,659 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). 2.9% of Derby households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Derby’s commuters take a bus or train.
Derby next to U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000: 587th of 1,477 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Prairie Village KS | 23,008 | $114K | 5.7% | 3.0% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 309 | Bruno Township KS | 19,221 | $103K | 5.3% | 2.8% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 585 | Hunters Creek FL | 22,819 | $99K | 7.0% | 4.7% | 4% | A− |
| 586 | Converse TX | 32,481 | $94K | 11.6% | 3.2% | 2% | A− |
| 587 | Derby KS | 26,606 | $84K | 6.0% | 3.7% | 15% | A− |
| 588 | Laurel MD | 30,254 | $101K | 9.0% | 4.7% | 5% | A− |
| 589 | Englewood CO | 35,305 | $87K | 7.7% | 4.3% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Derby, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Work in the towns next to Derby
The biggest share goes to Riverside Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Derby workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derby | – | A− | C+ | 23 min | $84,112 |
| Riverside Township | 7% | B− | B− | 20 min | $66,669 |
| Rockford Township | under 1% | B+ | B− | 23 min | $87,432 |
| Gypsum Township | under 1% | A− | B− | 20 min | $77,124 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Derby’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 Derby: questions
What is the median household income in Derby?
$84,112 (±$6,167) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Derby?
6.0%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Derby?
23 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Derby work?
15% work in town.
Is Derby walkable?
Derby is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Derby without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Derby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Derby
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.