Work means Hutchinson for about half of The Highlands’ working residents
7 jobs are based in The Highlands, against 151 working residents. Hardly any work in The Highlands itself; outside it, Hutchinson draws the most (47%, 7 miles). Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average, next to 20 for Kansas and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The Highlands quiets down on a workday
On a workday 151 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 7 people come in from elsewhere.
About 210 people are in The Highlands on a workday afternoon, 41% fewer than live here.
0.05 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 2024, primary jobs.
The places The Highlands commutes to
Where The Highlands clocks in
47% of workers
9% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in The Highlands
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in The Highlands, 2014 → 2024: 9 → 7. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs The Highlands’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from The Highlands: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of The Highlands workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 221 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.
How far it is to work from The Highlands
About 17% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
How The Highlands compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | The Highlands workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Highlands | – | — | — | 22 min | $97,500 |
| Grant Township | under 2% | B | D− | 21 min | $85,263 |
| East Washington Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. East Washington Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of The Highlands’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 2024, 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 The Highlands: questions
What is the median household income in The Highlands?
$97,500 (±$24,182) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in The Highlands?
3.1%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from The Highlands?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in The Highlands work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around The Highlands without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from The Highlands, from the people who make the trip.
More of The Highlands
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.