Princeton has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
Employers in Princeton report 37 jobs, against 135 working residents. Hardly any work in Princeton; the top destination outside it is Ottawa (16%, 8 miles). Working residents average 29 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Princeton on a workday afternoon
On a workday 134 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 36 people come in from elsewhere.
About 160 people are in Princeton on a workday afternoon, 38% 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.
Where people from Princeton work
Where Princeton clocks in
16% 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.
Princeton works in goods: 49% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Princeton, 2013 → 2023: 39 → 37. 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 Princeton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 29 minutes each way for Princeton’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Princeton workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 113 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.
Half of Princeton commutes less than 36 miles
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 Princeton: questions
What is the median household income in Princeton?
$64,500 (±$16,601) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Princeton?
3.8%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Princeton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Princeton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ottawa (16%, 8 mi), Olathe (13%, 36 mi), Overland Park (8%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Princeton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Princeton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Princeton
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.