Where Grinnell earns its living
Only 6% work in Grinnell; the top destination outside it is Quinter (25%, 22 miles). Working residents average 19 minutes each way (Kansas 20, U.S. 26). There are 66 jobs in Grinnell for 106 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Grinnell quiets down on a workday
On a workday 100 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 60 people come in from elsewhere.
About 210 people are in Grinnell on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.62 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.
Out of Grinnell to work: where people go
Where Grinnell clocks in
25% of workers
7% 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.
Grinnell makes things: 33% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grinnell, 2013 → 2023: 88 → 66. 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 Grinnell’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Grinnell: about 19 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grinnell workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 162 commuters (the 7% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Grinnell
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.
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 Grinnell: questions
What is the median household income in Grinnell?
$67,500 (±$15,358) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grinnell?
2.9%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grinnell?
19 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Grinnell work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Quinter (25%, 22 mi), Oakley (7%, 12 mi), Hays (6%, 72 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Grinnell without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Grinnell, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grinnell
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.