With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Pomona works elsewhere
The trip to work takes 27 minutes on average; Kansas averages 20, the U.S. 26. There are 224 jobs in Pomona; 417 of its residents have a job. Only 6% work in Pomona itself; outside it, Ottawa draws the most (21%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Pomona apart on work
Pomona and Ottawa trade workers both ways
Ottawa is the top workplace for Pomona residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Pomona come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Pomona workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical 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 417 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The places Pomona commutes to
Where Pomona clocks in
21% of workers
7% of workers
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.
Time on the road from Pomona: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pomona workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 481 commuters (the 7% 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.
Who leaves Pomona for work, and who comes in
On a workday 394 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 201 people come in from elsewhere.
About 690 people are in Pomona on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pomona, 2013 → 2023: 172 → 224. 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 Pomona’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Pomona
About 17% 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 Pomona: questions
What is the median household income in Pomona?
$51,875 (±$10,583) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pomona?
12.8%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pomona?
27 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pomona work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ottawa (21%, 10 mi), Lawrence (7%, 26 mi), Lenexa (6%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Pomona without a car?
2% 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 Pomona, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pomona
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.