Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0Seneca has lower unemployment (0.9%) than 95% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, next to 12% for Kansas as a whole. Jobs and income earn Seneca B; getting around on foot earns it B+. About two in five work in Seneca itself; outside it, Sabetha draws the most (7%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Seneca
Commutes from Seneca are quick
The average trip to work takes 8 minutes, against 20 across Kansas. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kansas worker. Time on the road ↓
Seneca is where the jobs are
Seneca has 2,268 jobs, 2.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 3,400 people are in town, 58% more than the 2,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
Few Seneca workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 12% across Kansas. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
Jobs & income in Seneca: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Seneca is better than 60% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Seneca’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 18% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Seneca could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Commuting from Seneca: about 8 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Seneca workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 940 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.
Who commutes out of Seneca, and who commutes in
On a workday 585 residents head out to work, 436 work right here, and 1,832 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Seneca on a workday afternoon, 58% more than live here.
2.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where Seneca’s workforce comes from
Where Seneca clocks in
5% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 31% of the jobs in Seneca
2,268 jobs are based in Seneca.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Seneca, 2013 → 2023: 2,235 → 2,268. 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 Seneca’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Seneca
About 24% 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.
Seneca is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Seneca is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Seneca near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 980 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.8% of Seneca households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Seneca’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,671st of 5,404: where Seneca ranks among U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Lexington Township KS | 1,512 | $135K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Westwood KS | 1,720 | $118K | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,669 | La Villita NM | 1,534 | $104K | 4.7% | 0.0% | 0% | B |
| 1,670 | Pumpkin Center NC | 1,636 | $64K | 2.9% | 8.6% | 0% | B |
| 1,671 | Seneca KS | 2,139 | $77K | 8.0% | 0.9% | 43% | B |
| 1,672 | Poth TX | 2,014 | $72K | 5.8% | 2.2% | 6% | B |
| 1,673 | Elk Township KS | 1,801 | $77K | 5.5% | 0.7% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Seneca, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Around Seneca: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Richmond Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Seneca workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seneca | – | B | B+ | 8 min | $76,750 |
| Richmond Township | 3% | — | — | 12 min | — |
| Mitchell Township | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Richmond Township and Mitchell Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Seneca’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Seneca: questions
What is the median household income in Seneca?
$76,750 (±$10,380) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Seneca?
8.0%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Seneca?
8 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Seneca work?
43% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sabetha (7%, 16 mi), Bern (6%, 10 mi), Topeka (5%, 59 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Seneca walkable?
Seneca is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Seneca without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Seneca, from the people who make the trip.
More of Seneca
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.