Photo: Ian Ballinger · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Ottawa (2.9%) than in 71% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 20 minutes each way, next to 20 for Kansas and 26 for the U.S. Ottawa grades B for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in three stay in Ottawa for work; outside it, Olathe is the main destination (6%, 31 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What’s behind Ottawa’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ottawa is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #69 of 151 in Kansas. Unemployment holds Ottawa’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($71,699, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ottawa could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 4,210 residents head out to work, 1,868 work right here, and 4,277 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.01 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.
The places Ottawa commutes to
Where Ottawa clocks in
6% 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 6,145 jobs based in Ottawa
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ottawa, 2013 → 2023: 5,075 → 6,145. 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 Ottawa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Ottawa: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ottawa workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,882 commuters (the 10% 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 Ottawa goes to work
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.
In Ottawa, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ottawa is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #78 of 151 in Kansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 6,508 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). 4.4% of Ottawa households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Ottawa’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ottawa is 1,224th of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000 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 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 421 | Spring Hill KS | 10,777 | $112K | 7.7% | 2.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 438 | Attica Township KS | 9,068 | $94K | 3.7% | 2.8% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 493 | Mission Township KS | 10,195 | $122K | 4.5% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,222 | Lemay MO | 16,228 | $60K | 14.7% | 2.5% | 4% | B |
| 1,223 | East Bay Township MI | 11,780 | $85K | 6.5% | 4.4% | 4% | B |
| 1,224 | Ottawa KS | 12,716 | $72K | 9.1% | 2.9% | 31% | B |
| 1,225 | Mount Holly Township NJ | 10,645 | $83K | 12.2% | 5.2% | 6% | B |
| 1,226 | Wantage Township NJ | 11,154 | $100K | 6.6% | 5.2% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Ottawa, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Around Ottawa: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ottawa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | – | B | B− | 20 min | $71,699 |
| Ottawa Township | 6% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Harrison Township | under 3% | — | — | 41 min | — |
| Lincoln Township | under 3% | — | — | 30 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Ottawa Township, Harrison Township and Lincoln Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Ottawa Township. Darker towns draw more of Ottawa’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 Ottawa: questions
What is the median household income in Ottawa?
$71,699 (±$12,962) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ottawa?
9.1%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ottawa?
20 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ottawa work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Olathe (6%, 31 mi), Overland Park (6%, 37 mi), Lawrence (6%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ottawa walkable?
Ottawa is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ottawa without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ottawa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ottawa
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.