Photo: Brylie at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Shawnee has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income A: better than 91% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #17 of 151 in Kansas.
Walkability B−: more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns · #83 of 151 in Kansas.
Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 22 minutes each way (Kansas 20, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Shawnee; the top destination outside it is Overland Park (19%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Shawnee
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Shawnee’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 22 minutes, longer than the Kansas average of 20. Time on the road ↓
Shawnee and Overland Park trade workers both ways
Overland Park is the top workplace for Shawnee residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Shawnee come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A lot of Shawnee works from home
21% of Shawnee workers work from home, against 12% across Kansas. 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.
What’s behind Shawnee’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shawnee is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #17 of 151 in Kansas. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shawnee could be anywhere from A to A+.
About 22 minutes each way, longer than most of Kansas
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shawnee workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 29,635 commuters (the 21% who work from home are left out). Across Kansas: 85% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
19% of working residents work in Overland Park
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Shawnee clocks in
14% of workers
12% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Shawnee quiets down on a workday
On a workday 31,126 residents head out to work, 3,092 work right here, and 18,714 people come in from elsewhere.
About 57,000 people are in Shawnee on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.64 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 21,806 jobs in Shawnee are
21,806 jobs are based in Shawnee. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Shawnee’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shawnee, 2013 → 2023: 16,511 → 21,806. 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.
Half of Shawnee commutes less than 9 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Shawnee start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shawnee is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #83 of 151 in Kansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.4% across Kansas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 37,686 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 32% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 4% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.8% of Shawnee households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Shawnee’s commuters take a bus or train.
Shawnee is 64th of 634 U.S. towns of 49,000 to 94,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Shawnee, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Lenexa KS | 60,506 | $103K | 5.4% | 2.8% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Bel Air South MD | 58,137 | $124K | 3.9% | 3.3% | 7% | A |
| 63 | Aliso Viejo CA | 49,844 | $142K | 5.1% | 4.2% | 8% | A |
| 64 | Shawnee KS | 69,848 | $110K | 5.3% | 3.3% | 9% | A |
| 65 | Leander TX | 91,132 | $139K | 5.8% | 3.4% | 9% | A |
| 66 | Frankfort Township IL | 60,704 | $135K | 4.0% | 4.6% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 451 | Manhattan KS | 54,673 | $60K | 23.3% | 3.6% | 58% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 634 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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.
26% of Shawnee works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Lenexa (12%). Darker towns draw more of Shawnee’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shawnee workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee | – | A | B− | 22 min | $109,940 |
| Lenexa | 12% | A | B+ | 19 min | $103,239 |
| Lake Quivira | under 2% | A+ | D | 24 min | $177,917 |
| Bonner Springs | under 2% | B+ | B− | 23 min | $83,218 |
| Merriam | 3% | B+ | A− | 22 min | $73,600 |
| Edwardsville | under 2% | C+ | B | 19 min | $72,611 |
| Kansas City | 9% | C+ | A− | 22 min | $62,401 |
| De Soto | 2% | B+ | B− | 28 min | $104,000 |
| Lexington Township | under 2% | A+ | B− | 24 min | $135,068 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Shawnee: questions
What is the median household income in Shawnee?
$109,940 (±$3,395) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shawnee?
5.3%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shawnee?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shawnee work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Overland Park (19%, 11 mi), Kansas City (14%, 16 mi), Lenexa (12%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shawnee walkable?
Shawnee is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shawnee without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 4% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shawnee, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shawnee
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.