Mahaska Rural High School #3 · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Mahaska at work: jobs, income and the commute
3% of workers have no commute at all, against 12% across Kansas. Hardly any work in Mahaska; the top destination outside it is Washington (28%, 20 miles). The trip to work takes 32 minutes on average, next to 20 for Kansas and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Mahaska
On a workday 18 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 11 people come in from elsewhere.
About 36 people are in Mahaska on a workday afternoon, 16% 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.
Where people from Mahaska work
Where Mahaska 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.
73% of the jobs in Mahaska pay over $3,333 a month
11 jobs are based in Mahaska.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mahaska, 2013 → 2023: 8 → 11. 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 Mahaska’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Mahaska: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mahaska workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 29 commuters (the 3% 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 it is to work from Mahaska
About 17% 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 Mahaska: questions
What is the median household income in Mahaska?
$85,500 (±$53,377) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mahaska?
8.5%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mahaska?
32 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mahaska work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (28%, 20 mi), Hanover (17%, 26 mi), Linn (11%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Mahaska 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 Mahaska, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mahaska
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.