Unemployment in Mission (3.2%) is lower than in 66% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 20% of workers; Kansas has 12%. For jobs and income Mission is better than 73% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (B). The average commute takes 18 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Mission
Most Mission residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
A lot of Mission workers cross into Missouri
22% of Mission workers work outside Kansas, most of them in Missouri, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Mission live in another state
13% of the jobs in Mission are held by people who live in Kansas City, MO, one of the top places its workers come from. The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Mission
20% of Mission workers work from home, against 12% across Kansas. Time on the road ↓
Mission gains people on a workday
About 12,000 people are in Mission on a workday afternoon, 20% more than the 10,000 who live here: 7,200 come in to work and 5,100 head out. Day and night ↓
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.
Inside Mission’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($75,534, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mission could be anywhere from B− to A.
Near or far: the trip to work from Mission
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.
21% of working residents work in Kansas City
Where Mission clocks in
21% 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 commute of about 18 minutes in Mission
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mission workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,337 commuters (the 20% 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.
Mission by day and by night
On a workday 5,148 residents head out to work, 247 work right here, and 7,155 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Mission on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.37 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.
What Mission’s employers do
7,402 jobs are based in Mission.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mission, 2013 → 2023: 6,385 → 7,402. 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 Mission’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Mission commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.4% across Kansas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,664 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 38% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 11% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.0% of Mission households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mission’s commuters take a bus or train.
Mission is 1,049th of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 198 | Tecumseh Township KS | 7,829 | $110K | 2.7% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 254 | Eudora Township KS | 7,870 | $119K | 4.6% | 2.3% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 475 | Spring Hill KS | 10,777 | $112K | 7.7% | 2.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,047 | Noble OK | 7,748 | $82K | 10.8% | 1.2% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,048 | Citrus CA | 10,904 | $103K | 7.7% | 6.5% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,049 | Mission KS | 10,125 | $76K | 9.7% | 3.2% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,050 | Bonner Springs KS | 7,962 | $83K | 12.4% | 2.5% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,051 | Lower Burrell PA | 11,470 | $85K | 7.8% | 3.3% | 8% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Mission, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Work next door: 21% of Mission’s workers
The biggest share goes to Overland Park (19%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mission workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission | – | B+ | B | 18 min | $75,534 |
| Roeland Park | under 2% | A− | B+ | 18 min | $88,774 |
| Overland Park | 19% | A | B+ | 20 min | $104,834 |
| Fairway | under 2% | A+ | A− | 17 min | $152,574 |
| Prairie Village | 2% | A | B+ | 20 min | $113,530 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mission’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 Mission: questions
What is the median household income in Mission?
$75,534 (±$6,791) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mission?
9.7%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mission?
18 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mission work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (21%, 9 mi), Overland Park (19%, 10 mi), Kansas City (12%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mission walkable?
Mission is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 10.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mission without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 11% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mission, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mission
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.