For about half of its working residents, Riley is a commute to Manhattan
Working residents average 27 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. Only 7% stay in Riley for work; outside it, Manhattan is the main destination (47%, 14 miles). 261 jobs are based in Riley, against 396 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Riley and work: the main findings
Nearly half of Riley works in Manhattan
187 working residents, 47%, have their main job in Manhattan, 14 miles away. That’s 7 times as many as work in Riley itself. The commute map ↓
Riley 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 396 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Riley to work: where people go
Where Riley clocks in
47% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
From Riley, about 27 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Riley workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 428 commuters (the 12% 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.
Riley by day and by night
On a workday 368 residents head out to work, 28 work right here, and 233 people come in from elsewhere.
About 820 people are in Riley on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.66 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 Riley’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Riley, 2013 → 2023: 254 → 261. 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 Riley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Riley
About 20% 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 Riley: questions
What is the median household income in Riley?
$93,750 (±$26,173) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Riley?
4.9%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Riley?
27 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Riley work?
7% work in town.
Can you get around Riley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Riley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Riley
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.