Smolan has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
8 jobs are based in Smolan, against 57 working residents. Hardly any stay in Smolan for work; outside it, Salina is the main destination (44%, 6 miles). Working residents average 19 minutes each way, about the same as across Kansas.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Smolan for work, and who comes in
On a workday 57 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 8 people come in from elsewhere.
About 110 people are in Smolan on a workday afternoon, 31% 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 the trip to work from Smolan ends
Where Smolan clocks in
Lines 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Smolan
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Smolan, 2013 → 2023: 17 → 8. 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 Smolan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Smolan’s commute takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Smolan workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 63 commuters (the 9% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Smolan
About 19% 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 Smolan: questions
What is the median household income in Smolan?
$64,375 (±$20,911) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Smolan?
11.5%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Smolan?
19 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Smolan work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Salina (44%, 6 mi), McPherson (5%, 26 mi), Liberty Township (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Smolan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Smolan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Smolan
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.