Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Osawatomie’s household incomes are lower than in 63% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Osawatomie is better than 35% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (C−). The poverty rate is 16.6%, where Kansas as a whole has 11.3%. About one in seven work in Osawatomie; the top destination outside it is Paola (12%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Osawatomie apart
Osawatomie workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Osawatomie is services
93% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% 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.
What’s behind Osawatomie’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Osawatomie’s grade up (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Osawatomie could be anywhere from D to B+.
About 30 minutes each way for Osawatomie’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Osawatomie workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,868 commuters (the 18% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Osawatomie
1,388 jobs are based in Osawatomie.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Osawatomie, 2013 → 2023: 1,309 → 1,388. 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 Osawatomie’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Osawatomie quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,674 residents head out to work, 293 work right here, and 1,095 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,600 people are in Osawatomie on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.71 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 the trip to work from Osawatomie ends
Where Osawatomie clocks in
12% 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 distance from Osawatomie to work
About 16% 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.
Osawatomie is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.4% 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 2,286 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). 5.4% of Osawatomie households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Osawatomie’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Osawatomie is 2,669th of 3,962 U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 31 | Fairway KS | 4,181 | $153K | 3.1% | 1.7% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Aubry Township KS | 4,719 | $134K | 0.7% | 1.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,667 | Fairview GA | 5,302 | $64K | 13.1% | 4.1% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,668 | Kilauea HI | 3,146 | $92K | 18.5% | 3.4% | 13% | C+ |
| 2,669 | Osawatomie KS | 4,215 | $67K | 16.6% | 4.2% | 15% | C+ |
| 2,670 | St. Charles Township MI | 3,115 | $63K | 10.6% | 4.4% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,671 | Kirkwood NY | 5,274 | $59K | 15.2% | 3.9% | 11% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,962 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Osawatomie, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Work in the towns next to Osawatomie
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Osawatomie workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osawatomie | – | C+ | C− | 30 min | $66,991 |
| Osawatomie Township | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Valley Township | under 2% | B | D | 34 min | $89,643 |
Same-state neighbors only. Osawatomie Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Osawatomie’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 Osawatomie: questions
What is the median household income in Osawatomie?
$66,991 (±$14,538) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Osawatomie?
16.6%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Osawatomie?
30 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Osawatomie work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paola (12%, 7 mi), Olathe (11%, 27 mi), Overland Park (7%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Osawatomie walkable?
Osawatomie is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Osawatomie without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Osawatomie, from the people who make the trip.
More of Osawatomie
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.