Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Union Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
St. Mary's Catholic ChurchSt. Mary's Catholic Church · Photo: SharonPapierdreams · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Union Township

Union Township has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

The trip to work takes 23 minutes on average (Kansas 20, U.S. 26). Employers in Union Township report 13 jobs, and 107 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Union Township itself; outside it, Highland draws the most (16%, 11 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily commute in and out of Union Township

On a workday 106 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 12 people come in from elsewhere.

106live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
12work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night270
Workday170
270live here− 110head out to work+ 12come in to work= 170on a workday

About 170 people are in Union Township on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.12jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

Out of Union Township to work: where people go

Highland: 17 residents work here (16%)Troy: 7 residents work here (7%)WhitingSeneca: 6 residents work here (6%)Wathena: 3 residents work here (3%)Hiawatha: 10 residents work here (9%)Holton: 3 residents work here (3%)LansingOverland Park: 3 residents work here (3%)Topeka: 5 residents work here (5%)St. Joseph: 14 residents work here (13%)Kansas City: 5 residents work here (5%)Union TownshipWolf River TownshipLancaster TownshipWashington TownshipIndependence TownshipIowa TownshipHighlandSt. JosephHiawathaTroySenecaTopekaUnion Township
1
Highland10.8 mi away
16%17
2
St. Joseph, MO24.4 mi away
13%14
3
Hiawatha17.3 mi away
9%10
4
Troy11.1 mi away
7%7
5
Seneca43.3 mi away
6%6
6
Topeka51.4 mi away
5%5
7
Kansas City, MO55.6 mi away
5%5
8
Wathena18.9 mi away
3%3
9
Holton29.3 mi away
3%3
10
Overland Park64.4 mi away
3%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
32%34
The top trips

Where Union Township 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.

The jobs

Factories, building and farms: 46% of the jobs in Union Township

Jobs based in Union TownshipJobs Union Township residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms46%19%
Trade, transport & utilities8%18%
Services: health, schools, offices46%64%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less15%19%
$1,251–$3,333 a month31%29%
Over $3,333 a month54%52%

Who does it

29 or younger15%25%
30 to 5446%45%
55 and older38%30%
−85%

Jobs based in Union Township, 2014 → 2024: 86 → 13. 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 Union Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Time on the road from Union Township: about 23 minutes

A year of commuting
173 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Union Township23 min
Kansas20 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
12%

of Union Township workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Union Township gets to work
80%Drive alone
16%Carpool
5%Walk

Share of the 109 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.

How far

Near or far: the trip to work from Union Township

10 mi25 mi50 mi75 miHighland: 16% · 10.8 miSt. Joseph: 13% · 24.4 miHiawatha: 9% · 17.3 miTroy: 7% · 11.1 miSeneca: 6% · 43.3 miTopeka: 5% · 51.4 miKansas City: 5% · 55.6 miWathena: 3% · 18.9 miHolton: 3% · 29.3 miOverland Park: 3% · 64.4 miHighland 16%St. Joseph 13%Hiawatha 9%Troy 7%Seneca 6%Union Township
Union TownshipTop destinations (size = commuters)
17%Under 10 mi18 residents
44%10–24 mi47 residents
13%25–50 mi14 residents
25%Over 50 mi27 residents

About 25% 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.

Next door

The towns around Union Township

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Washington Township20 min
Lancaster Township22 min
Union Township23 min
Independence Township24 min
Wolf River Township28 min

Jobs & commute next door

TownUnion Township workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Union Township–——23 min$79,688
Independence Townshipunder 3%——24 min—
Washington Townshipunder 3%——20 min—
Wolf River Townshipunder 3%——28 min—
Lancaster Townshipunder 3%——22 min—

Same-state neighbors only. Independence Township, Washington Township, Wolf River Township and Lancaster Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Union Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.
  • Two counts of out-of-state work. The Census survey asks workers where they work: 2% of Union Township workers work outside Kansas. The job records count 18% at employers in other states. The records use the address the employer reports and skip the self-employed, so the two can differ.
  • Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Union Township: questions

What is the median household income in Union Township?

$79,688 (±$29,663) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Union Township?

7.8%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Union Township?

23 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Union Township work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Highland (16%, 11 mi), St. Joseph (13%, 24 mi), Hiawatha (9%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).

Can you get around Union Township 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 Union Township, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Union Township

Union Township home →

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.