Photo: Art davis · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Fredonia earn less than those in 75% of U.S. towns
2% of workers work from home, next to 12% for Kansas as a whole. 19.3% of residents are in poverty, against 11.3% across Kansas. The two grades for Fredonia are D for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Fredonia in brief
Commutes from Fredonia 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 ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Fredonia than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Fredonia fell from 1,905 in 2013 to 1,315 in 2023, −31%. 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 ↓
Few Fredonia workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 12% across Kansas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 Fredonia
On income, poverty and job access, Fredonia is better than 9% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Fredonia’s grade.
Unemployment (0.4%) is left out: Fredonia’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Fredonia could be anywhere from D− to C.
Fredonia’s commute takes about 13 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fredonia workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 879 commuters (the 2% 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.
Goods jobs make up 32% of work in Fredonia
1,315 jobs are based in Fredonia.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fredonia, 2013 → 2023: 1,905 → 1,315. 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 Fredonia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Fredonia goes to work
About 33% 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.
A workday in Fredonia: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 666 residents head out to work, 373 work right here, and 942 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Fredonia on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 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.
7% of working residents work in Neodesha
Where Fredonia clocks in
7% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
For most of Fredonia, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fredonia is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 900 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). 7.7% of Fredonia households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Fredonia’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Fredonia ranks: 4,979th of 5,793 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Lexington Township KS | 1,512 | $135K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Westwood KS | 1,720 | $118K | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,977 | Sumner Township MI | 1,850 | $57K | 16.6% | 6.8% | 2% | D |
| 4,978 | Santo Domingo Pueblo NM | 2,370 | $57K | 23.1% | 9.1% | 15% | D |
| 4,979 | Fredonia KS | 2,041 | $59K | 19.3% | 0.4% | 36% | D |
| 4,980 | Albany KY | 1,729 | $44K | 13.6% | 3.3% | 22% | D |
| 4,981 | Manton MI | 1,626 | $46K | 13.5% | 3.0% | 9% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | 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 Fredonia, 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 Fredonia: questions
What is the median household income in Fredonia?
$59,125 (±$17,765) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fredonia?
19.3%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fredonia?
13 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fredonia work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Neodesha (7%, 11 mi), Chanute (5%, 22 mi), Independence (4%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fredonia walkable?
Fredonia is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fredonia without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fredonia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fredonia
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.