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Jobs & commute in Prairie Township

Most of Prairie Township commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident

Employers in Prairie Township report 14 jobs, and 45 of its residents work somewhere. Only 4% work in Prairie Township; the top destination outside it is Mankato (24%, 13 miles). For 4% of workers, the job is at home, where Kansas as a whole has 12%.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

A workday in Prairie Township: who goes, who stays, who comes

On a workday 43 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 12 people come in from elsewhere.

43live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
12work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night150
Workday120
150live here− 43head out to work+ 12come in to work= 120on a workday

About 120 people are in Prairie Township on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.31jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

Where Prairie Township’s working residents head each day

Randall: 2 residents work here (4%)EsbonSimpson: 1 residents work here (2%)JewellMankato: 11 residents work here (24%)Cawker City: 2 residents work here (4%)Plainville: 1 residents work here (2%)Smith Center: 1 residents work here (2%)MinneapolisBeloit: 2 residents work here (4%)SalinaWichita: 3 residents work here (7%)Superior: 2 residents work here (4%)Walnut TownshipStarr TownshipBrowns Creek TownshipBeloit Township: 2 residents work here (4%)Allen TownshipPrairie TownshipIonia TownshipSolomon Rapids TownshipPlum Creek TownshipEsbon TownshipMankatoWichitaRandallCawker CityBeloitSuperiorPrairie Township
1
Mankato13.3 mi away
24%11
2
Wichita139.1 mi away
7%3
3
Randall2.9 mi away
4%2
4
Cawker City19.7 mi away
4%2
5
Beloit10.6 mi away
4%2
6
Superior, NE27.9 mi away
4%2
7
Beloit Township13 mi away
4%2
8
Simpson18.1 mi away
2%1
9
Plainville69.8 mi away
2%1
10
Smith Center38.4 mi away
2%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
40%18
The top trips

Where Prairie Township clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

71% of the jobs in Prairie Township pay over $3,333 a month

Jobs based in Prairie TownshipJobs Prairie Township residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%27%
Trade, transport & utilities86%29%
Services: health, schools, offices14%44%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less14%22%
$1,251–$3,333 a month14%38%
Over $3,333 a month71%40%

Who does it

29 or younger0%20%
30 to 5486%62%
55 and older14%18%
+133%

Jobs based in Prairie Township, 2013 → 2023: 6 → 14. 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 Prairie Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

From Prairie Township, about 23 minutes to the job

A year of commuting
178 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Prairie Township23 min
Kansas20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
4%

of Prairie Township workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Prairie Township gets to work
88%Drive alone
12%Carpool

Share of the 76 commuters (the 4% 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

Close to home or a long way: work trips from Prairie Township

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miMankato: 24% · 13.3 miWichita: 7% · 139.1 miRandall: 4% · 2.9 miCawker City: 4% · 19.7 miBeloit: 4% · 10.6 miSuperior: 4% · 27.9 miBeloit Township: 4% · 13 miSimpson: 2% · 18.1 miPlainville: 2% · 69.8 miSmith Center: 2% · 38.4 miMankato 24%Wichita 7%Randall 4%Cawker City 4%Beloit 4%Prairie Township
Prairie TownshipTop destinations (size = commuters)
7%Under 10 mi3 residents
48%10–24 mi21 residents
11%25–50 mi5 residents
34%Over 50 mi15 residents

About 34% 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.

Next door

Next door to Prairie Township

Jobs & commute next door

TownPrairie Township workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Prairie Township–——23 min$45,192
Browns Creek Townshipunder 3%————
Allen Townshipunder 3%————
Plum Creek Townshipunder 3%——25 min—
Solomon Rapids Townshipunder 3%————

Same-state neighbors only. Browns Creek Township, Allen Township, Plum Creek Township and Solomon Rapids Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Prairie Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Prairie Township: questions

What is the median household income in Prairie Township?

$45,192 (±$36,148) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Prairie Township?

26.8%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Prairie Township?

23 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Prairie Township work?

4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mankato (24%, 13 mi), Wichita (7%, 139 mi), Randall (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Prairie Township without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Prairie Township, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Prairie Township

Prairie Township home →

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.