Montezuma at work: jobs, income and the commute
A typical one-way commute lasts 13 minutes (Kansas 20, U.S. 26). For 3% of workers, the job is at home, where Kansas as a whole has 12%. About one in five work in Montezuma; the top destination outside it is Cimarron (9%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Montezuma
Montezuma is where the jobs are
Montezuma has 503 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Montezuma are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 20 across Kansas. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kansas worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Montezuma pay little
27% of the jobs based in Montezuma pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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; with 305 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The daily commute in and out of Montezuma
On a workday 252 residents head out to work, 53 work right here, and 450 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Montezuma on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip from Montezuma: about 13 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montezuma workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 399 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.
In Montezuma, services account for most jobs
503 jobs are based in Montezuma.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montezuma, 2013 → 2023: 502 → 503. 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 Montezuma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip into Montezuma
Where Montezuma clocks in
9% 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.
Montezuma’s commute, mile by mile
About 22% 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 Montezuma: questions
What is the median household income in Montezuma?
$48,438 (±$18,900) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montezuma?
11.0%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montezuma?
13 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montezuma work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cimarron (9%, 16 mi), Dodge City (9%, 26 mi), Montezuma Township (7%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Montezuma 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 Montezuma, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montezuma
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.