Jewell County Courthouse · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0How Mankato works: jobs, income and commuting
Working residents average 14 minutes each way; Kansas averages 20, the U.S. 26. About one in five stay in Mankato for work; outside it, Beloit is the main destination (14%, 23 miles). Employers in Mankato report 382 jobs, and 301 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Mankato, in brief
Mankato’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Mankato is Beloit, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (43) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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 ↓
Commutes from Mankato are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 20 across Kansas. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kansas worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 301 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far it is to work from Mankato
About 35% 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.
About 14 minutes to work from Mankato
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mankato workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 452 commuters (the 6% 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.
In and out of Mankato on a workday
On a workday 236 residents head out to work, 65 work right here, and 317 people come in from elsewhere.
About 880 people are in Mankato on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 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.
Where Mankato’s working residents head each day
Where Mankato clocks in
5% of workers
3% 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 Mankato
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mankato, 2013 → 2023: 510 → 382. 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 Mankato’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Mankato: questions
What is the median household income in Mankato?
$50,893 (±$9,982) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mankato?
9.8%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mankato?
14 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mankato work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Beloit (14%, 23 mi), Wichita (5%, 152 mi), Topeka (3%, 144 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Mankato without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mankato, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mankato
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.