Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Hamilton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Hamilton-water-towerPhoto: Art davis · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Hamilton

Hamilton has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each

Only 2% stay in Hamilton for work; outside it, Emporia is the main destination (19%, 29 miles). Hamilton has 23 jobs, and 63 of its residents work somewhere. Home is the office for 0% of workers, where Kansas as a whole has 12%.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Who commutes out of Hamilton, and who commutes in

On a workday 62 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 22 people come in from elsewhere.

62live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
22work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night170
Workday130
170live here− 62head out to work+ 22come in to work= 130on a workday

About 130 people are in Hamilton on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.37jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Where Hamilton goes to work

HamiltonMadison: 7 residents work here (11%)Neodesha: 2 residents work here (3%)Eureka: 7 residents work here (11%)McPherson: 2 residents work here (3%)Emporia: 12 residents work here (19%)Hutchinson: 2 residents work here (3%)Manhattan: 2 residents work here (3%)WichitaOverland Park: 2 residents work here (3%)Kansas City: 2 residents work here (3%)Madison Township: 2 residents work here (3%)Eureka TownshipJanesville TownshipQuincy TownshipSalem TownshipEmporiaMadisonEurekaNeodeshaMcPhersonHutchinsonHamilton
1
Emporia29.2 mi away
19%12
2
Madison10.7 mi away
11%7
3
Eureka12.7 mi away
11%7
4
Neodesha46.5 mi away
3%2
5
McPherson85.8 mi away
3%2
6
Hutchinson95.1 mi away
3%2
7
Manhattan86.8 mi away
3%2
8
Overland Park101.5 mi away
3%2
9
Kansas City, MO117.7 mi away
3%2
10
Madison Township10.1 mi away
3%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
37%23
The top trips

Where Hamilton clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Factories, building and farms: 65% of the jobs in Hamilton

Jobs based in HamiltonJobs Hamilton residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms65%35%
Trade, transport & utilities0%25%
Services: health, schools, offices35%40%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less48%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month30%19%
Over $3,333 a month22%68%

Who does it

29 or younger9%16%
30 to 5439%43%
55 and older52%41%
−71%

Jobs based in Hamilton, 2013 → 2023: 79 → 23. 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 Hamilton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Time on the road from Hamilton: about 24 minutes

A year of commuting
183 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Hamilton24 min
Kansas20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Hamilton workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Hamilton gets to work
93%Drive alone
7%Other

Share of the 55 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.

How far

Short hops and long hauls from Hamilton

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miEmporia: 19% · 29.2 miMadison: 11% · 10.7 miEureka: 11% · 12.7 miNeodesha: 3% · 46.5 miMcPherson: 3% · 85.8 miHutchinson: 3% · 95.1 miManhattan: 3% · 86.8 miOverland Park: 3% · 101.5 miKansas City: 3% · 117.7 miMadison Township: 3% · 10.1 miEmporia 19%Madison 11%Eureka 11%Neodesha 3%McPherson 3%Hamilton
HamiltonTop destinations (size = commuters)
3%Under 10 mi2 residents
32%10–24 mi20 residents
32%25–50 mi20 residents
33%Over 50 mi21 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Hamilton: questions

What is the median household income in Hamilton?

$35,625 (±$16,795) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Hamilton?

2.5%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Hamilton?

24 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Hamilton work?

2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Emporia (19%, 29 mi), Madison (11%, 11 mi), Eureka (11%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Hamilton without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Hamilton, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Hamilton

Hamilton home →

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.