Photo: Melissa Bower · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Lansing are higher than in 79% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 21 minutes each way (Kansas 20, U.S. 26). The poverty rate is 6.3%, against 11.3% across Kansas. Jobs and income earn Lansing A−; getting around on foot earns it C+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Lansing in brief
Lansing has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Lansing went from 1,487 in 2013 to 2,647 in 2023, +78%. The jobs ↓
Lansing and Leavenworth trade workers both ways
Leavenworth is the top workplace for Lansing residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Lansing come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Lansing is services
85% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 9% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Lansing’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lansing is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #41 of 151 in Kansas. Household income holds Lansing’s grade up ($102,786, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lansing could be anywhere from B to A+.
Services make up most of the work in Lansing
2,647 jobs are based in Lansing.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lansing, 2013 → 2023: 1,487 → 2,647. 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 Lansing’s own residents hold wherever they work.
22% of working residents work in Leavenworth
Where Lansing clocks in
22% 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.
A workday in Lansing: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 3,871 residents head out to work, 457 work right here, and 2,190 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,700 people are in Lansing on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.61 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.
Getting to work from Lansing takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lansing workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,103 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.
How many miles Lansing commutes
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.
Lansing is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lansing is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #100 of 151 in Kansas. Both inputs place Lansing near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,665 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). 1.8% of Lansing households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lansing’s commuters take a bus or train.
826th of 2,507: where Lansing ranks among U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 437 | Spring Hill KS | 10,777 | $112K | 7.7% | 2.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 457 | Attica Township KS | 9,068 | $94K | 3.7% | 2.8% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 514 | Mission Township KS | 10,195 | $122K | 4.5% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 824 | Tehaleh WA | 9,561 | $156K | 1.4% | 6.4% | 1% | A− |
| 825 | Wickliffe OH | 12,649 | $82K | 6.6% | 3.8% | 7% | A− |
| 826 | Lansing KS | 11,331 | $103K | 6.3% | 4.5% | 11% | A− |
| 827 | Jackson Township IN | 11,276 | $85K | 8.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A− |
| 828 | Ottawa Township OH | 8,047 | $90K | 5.9% | 1.2% | 27% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Lansing, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Bordering towns draw 22% of Lansing’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lansing workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lansing | – | A− | C+ | 21 min | $102,786 |
| Delaware Township | under 3% | A+ | D | 29 min | $118,667 |
| Leavenworth | 22% | B− | B+ | 20 min | $72,987 |
| High Prairie Township | under 3% | A− | C | 27 min | $103,229 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Leavenworth. Darker towns draw more of Lansing’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 Lansing: questions
What is the median household income in Lansing?
$102,786 (±$12,445) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lansing?
6.3%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lansing?
21 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lansing work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Leavenworth (22%, 6 mi), Kansas City (11%, 12 mi), Kansas City (7%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lansing walkable?
Lansing is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lansing without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lansing, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lansing
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.