Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 4.0Garnett’s household incomes are lower than in 66% of U.S. towns
6.0% of residents live below the poverty line; Kansas has 11.3%. The two grades for Garnett are C for jobs and income and B for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 0% of workers, next to 12% for Kansas as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Garnett
Garnett workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Garnett workers work from home
Only 0% 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
30% 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.
How Garnett earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Garnett is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #114 of 151 in Kansas. The poverty rate holds Garnett’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Garnett could be anywhere from D to A−.
About 28 minutes to work from Garnett
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Garnett workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,241 commuters (the 0% 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.
Garnett’s commute, mile by mile
About 30% 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.
Who works in Garnett, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,008 residents head out to work, 457 work right here, and 1,144 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 (1.09 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.
6% of working residents work in Ottawa
Where Garnett clocks in
6% of workers
3% 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.
What work there is in Garnett: 1,601 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Garnett, 2013 → 2023: 1,275 → 1,601. 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 Garnett’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Garnett is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Garnett is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns, #59 of 151 in Kansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% 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 1,241 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). 10.6% of Garnett households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Garnett’s commuters take a bus or train.
Garnett next to U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400: 2,954th of 4,453 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| 4 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Fairway KS | 4,181 | $153K | 3.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Minneha Township KS | 3,472 | $143K | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,952 | Waialua HI | 3,050 | $88K | 10.0% | 7.9% | 4% | C |
| 2,953 | West Burlington IA | 3,358 | $49K | 23.8% | 1.8% | 21% | C |
| 2,954 | Garnett KS | 3,242 | $65K | 6.0% | 5.3% | 31% | C |
| 2,955 | Morrisville VT | 2,404 | $68K | 17.8% | 2.8% | 18% | C |
| 2,956 | Theresa NY | 2,572 | $70K | 11.1% | 3.2% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Garnett, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Garnett and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Garnett workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garnett | – | C | B | 28 min | $65,230 |
| Monroe Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Jackson Township | under 2% | — | — | 12 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Monroe Township and Jackson Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Garnett’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 Garnett: questions
What is the median household income in Garnett?
$65,230 (±$22,960) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Garnett?
6.0%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Garnett?
28 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Garnett work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ottawa (6%, 22 mi), Olathe (5%, 47 mi), Wichita (3%, 122 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Garnett walkable?
Garnett is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Garnett without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Garnett, from the people who make the trip.
More of Garnett
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.