Photo: Abe Ezekowitz · CC BY-SA 3.0At 1.6%, unemployment in Galena is lower than in 89% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Galena are C+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Home is the office for 3% of workers, against 12% across Kansas. About one in five stay in Galena for work; outside it, Joplin is the main destination (29%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Galena in brief
Galena trades workers with the towns around it
Galena has about as many jobs (1,273) as working residents (1,137), but they are mostly different people: 928 residents leave for work each day while 1,064 people come in. Only 16% of the jobs in Galena are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Many of the people who work in Galena live in another state
Joplin, MO (15%), Carl Junction, MO (3%) and Webb City, MO (2%) are among the top places Galena’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 20% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Galena and Joplin trade workers both ways
Joplin is the top workplace for Galena residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in Galena come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Galena makes and builds things
43% of the jobs based in Galena are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Galena residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. The jobs ↓
Most Galena residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. 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.
The four measures behind Galena’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Galena is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #96 of 151 in Kansas. Unemployment holds Galena’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($49,006, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Galena could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The daily commute in and out of Galena
On a workday 928 residents head out to work, 209 work right here, and 1,064 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.12 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.
Where people from Galena work
Where Galena clocks in
29% 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.
Galena works in goods: 43% of its jobs
1,273 jobs are based in Galena.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Galena, 2013 → 2023: 1,250 → 1,273. 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 Galena’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Galena
About 20% 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.
About 19 minutes to work from Galena
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Galena workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,279 commuters (the 3% 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.
In Galena, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Galena is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns, #131 of 151 in Kansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,313 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). 7.4% of Galena households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Galena’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,524th of 4,703: where Galena ranks among U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 43 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Minneha Township KS | 3,472 | $143K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,522 | Ashville AL | 2,412 | $69K | 19.9% | 2.1% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,523 | Sugar City ID | 2,476 | $67K | 8.7% | 1.9% | 13% | C+ |
| 2,524 | Galena KS | 2,788 | $49K | 13.0% | 1.6% | 18% | C+ |
| 2,525 | Amherst VA | 2,146 | $71K | 9.1% | 0.0% | 15% | C+ |
| 2,526 | Catlin NY | 2,450 | $81K | 8.9% | 5.0% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Galena, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Next door to Galena
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Galena workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galena | – | C+ | C− | 19 min | $49,006 |
| Garden Township | under 2% | A− | D | 19 min | $86,074 |
| Lowell Township | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lowell Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Galena’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 Galena: questions
What is the median household income in Galena?
$49,006 (±$14,434) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Galena?
13.0%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Galena?
19 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Galena work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Joplin (29%, 7 mi), Pittsburg (4%, 24 mi), Baxter Springs (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Galena walkable?
Galena is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Galena without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Galena, from the people who make the trip.
More of Galena
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.