Jobs, income and commuting in Pretty Prairie, KS
Pretty Prairie has 180 jobs; 275 of its residents have a job. About one in ten work in Pretty Prairie; the top destination outside it is Hutchinson (20%, 21 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 25 minutes, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Pretty Prairie: the figures worth knowing
About 25 minutes each way, longer than most of Kansas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pretty Prairie workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 280 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.
Pretty Prairie on a workday afternoon
On a workday 253 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 158 people come in from elsewhere.
About 560 people are in Pretty Prairie on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.65 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 2024, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Pretty Prairie’s residents
Where Pretty Prairie clocks in
20% of workers
17% of workers
4% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Pretty Prairie
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pretty Prairie, 2014 → 2024: 176 → 180. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pretty Prairie’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Pretty Prairie
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
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 2024, 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 Pretty Prairie: questions
What is the median household income in Pretty Prairie?
$65,500 (±$17,417) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pretty Prairie?
9.8%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pretty Prairie?
25 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pretty Prairie work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hutchinson (20%, 21 mi), Wichita (17%, 37 mi), Kingman (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Pretty Prairie without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pretty Prairie, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pretty Prairie
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.