Mary Seaman Ennis House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Fewer people are out of work in Goodland (0.8%) than in 96% of U.S. towns
Goodland grades C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Goodland is behind 85% of U.S. towns. More than half stay in Goodland for work; outside it, Colby is the main destination (4%, 36 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Goodland stands out on work
Most jobs in Goodland go to people who live here
Of the 1,825 jobs based in Goodland, 53% are held by Goodland residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Goodland are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 20 across Kansas. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kansas worker. 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.
Where Goodland’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Goodland is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #113 of 151 in Kansas. Unemployment holds Goodland’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Goodland could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Who works in Goodland, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 864 residents head out to work, 973 work right here, and 852 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 (0.99 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.
Each way, about 12 minutes from Goodland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Goodland workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,930 commuters (the 12% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Goodland
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.
Where Goodland goes to work
Where Goodland clocks in
4% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
The kinds of work in Goodland
1,825 jobs are based in Goodland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Goodland, 2013 → 2023: 2,031 → 1,825. 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 Goodland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Goodland is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Goodland is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #47 of 151 in Kansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% 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 2,196 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). 3.8% of Goodland households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Goodland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Goodland is 2,658th of 3,908 U.S. towns of 3,100 to 5,900 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Fairway KS | 4,181 | $153K | 3.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Aubry Township KS | 4,719 | $134K | 0.7% | 1.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,656 | Kirkwood NY | 5,274 | $59K | 15.2% | 3.9% | 11% | C+ |
| 2,657 | Marysville KS | 3,385 | $55K | 12.0% | 2.2% | 57% | C+ |
| 2,658 | Goodland KS | 4,366 | $52K | 11.7% | 0.8% | 53% | C |
| 2,659 | Lawnside NJ | 3,340 | $72K | 20.4% | 11.5% | 5% | C |
| 2,660 | Ebensburg PA | 3,228 | $58K | 9.5% | 5.3% | 12% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,908 | 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 Goodland, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Work in the towns next to Goodland
The biggest share goes to Itasca Township (1%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Goodland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodland | – | C | B+ | 12 min | $52,258 |
| Voltaire Township | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Itasca Township | 1% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Logan Township | 1% | — | — | 14 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Voltaire Township, Itasca Township and Logan Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Goodland’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 Goodland: questions
What is the median household income in Goodland?
$52,258 (±$8,534) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Goodland?
11.7%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Goodland?
12 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Goodland work?
53% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Colby (4%, 36 mi), Garden City (2%, 106 mi), Wichita (2%, 262 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Goodland walkable?
Goodland is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Goodland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Goodland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Goodland
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.