Shawnee Mission · Photo: Lester Jones, Photographer · Public domainFairway’s household incomes are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 3.2 in Kansas City. 3.1% of residents are in poverty (Kansas 11.3%). Jobs and income earn Fairway A+; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Fairway
A lot of Fairway workers cross into Missouri
39% of Fairway workers work outside Kansas, most of them in Missouri, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Most Fairway residents work close to home
76% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Many of the people who work in Fairway live in another state
Kansas City, MO (16%) and Lee's Summit, MO (3%) are among the top places Fairway’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 19% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Fairway and Kansas City trade workers both ways
Kansas City is the top workplace for Fairway residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Fairway come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Three in four Fairway workers earn over $40,000 a year
76% of Fairway’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Fairway
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fairway is among the top U.S. towns, #2 of 151 in Kansas. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Fairway’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fairway could be anywhere from A to A+.
28% of working residents work in Kansas City
Where Fairway clocks in
28% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Fairway
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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Fairway
1,104 jobs are based in Fairway.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fairway, 2013 → 2023: 895 → 1,104. 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 Fairway’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Fairway by day
On a workday 1,922 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 1,079 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Fairway on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.57 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.
Time on the road from Fairway: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fairway workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,946 commuters (the 15% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Fairway
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fairway is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns, #31 of 151 in Kansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% 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 2,296 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 80% 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 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 3.6% of Fairway households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fairway’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Fairway ranks: 32nd of 4,112 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 31 | Del Mar CA | 3,858 | $199K | 2.7% | 1.8% | 9% | A+ |
| 32 | Fairway KS | 4,181 | $153K | 3.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| 33 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| 34 | Spring Valley Village TX | 4,402 | $245K | 1.0% | 2.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Aubry Township KS | 4,719 | $134K | 0.7% | 1.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Minneha Township KS | 3,472 | $143K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Fairway, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Fairway and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Prairie Village (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fairway workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairway | – | A+ | A− | 17 min | $152,574 |
| Mission Hills | under 3% | A+ | B− | 16 min | $250,000+ |
| Roeland Park | under 3% | A− | B+ | 18 min | $88,774 |
| Westwood | under 3% | A+ | A | 17 min | $118,250 |
| Prairie Village | 4% | A | B+ | 20 min | $113,530 |
| Mission | 2% | B+ | B | 18 min | $75,534 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fairway’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 Fairway: questions
What is the median household income in Fairway?
$152,574 (±$50,614) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fairway?
3.1%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fairway?
17 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fairway work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (28%, 8 mi), Overland Park (17%, 10 mi), Kansas City (11%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fairway walkable?
Fairway is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fairway without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fairway, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fairway
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.