Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domainJobs and the daily commute in Protection
Working residents average 18 minutes each way (Kansas 20, U.S. 26). About one in seven stay in Protection for work; outside it, Coldwater is the main destination (38%, 8 miles). 6% of workers work from home; Kansas has 12%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Protection
Commuting out of Protection: the destinations
Where Protection clocks in
38% of workers
2% 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.
Protection on a workday afternoon
On a workday 168 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 117 people come in from elsewhere.
About 440 people are in Protection on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.75 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 2023, primary jobs.
What the 151 jobs in Protection are
151 jobs are based in Protection.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Protection, 2013 → 2023: 181 → 151. 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 Protection’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Protection: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Protection workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 222 commuters (the 6% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Protection
About 28% 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 Protection: questions
What is the median household income in Protection?
$51,974 (±$11,742) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Protection?
11.0%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Protection?
18 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Protection work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Coldwater (38%, 8 mi), Ashland (5%, 16 mi), Minneola (2%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Protection 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 Protection, from the people who make the trip.
More of Protection
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.