Union Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
Only 2% work in Union Township; the top destination outside it is Lawrence (23%, 17 miles). 197 jobs are based in Union Township for 731 working residents. Union Township grades B+ for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Union Township
Union Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 138 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (27 to 32 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Union Township is a place people come home to
There are 197 jobs based in Union Township, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Union Township has about 1,100 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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; with 731 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Union Township’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Union Township is better than 68% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Union Township’s grade up (4.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 43% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (4.1%) is left out: Union Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Union Township could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Each way, about 38 minutes from Union Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Union Township workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 858 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.
Union Township by day and by night
On a workday 715 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 181 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Union Township on a workday afternoon, 32% 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 Union Township goes to work
Where Union Township clocks in
23% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
Jobs in Union Township: what the 197 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union Township, 2013 → 2023: 179 → 197. 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 Union Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Union Township commutes
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.
In Union Township, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Union Township is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Union Township 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 917 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). 0.4% of Union Township households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Union Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,142nd of 5,381: where Union Township ranks among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 46 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Lexington Township KS | 1,512 | $135K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 71 | Westwood KS | 1,720 | $118K | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,140 | Fugit Township IN | 1,894 | $94K | 2.9% | 0.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,141 | Cotton Township IN | 1,856 | $74K | 1.6% | 1.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,142 | Union Township KS | 1,646 | $82K | 4.4% | 4.1% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,143 | Bally PA | 1,243 | $76K | 8.6% | 1.2% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,144 | Galena Township IN | 1,918 | $86K | 7.5% | 3.1% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Union Township, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
The towns around Union Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Union Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | – | B+ | D | 38 min | $81,835 |
| Jefferson Township | under 2% | C+ | B− | 32 min | $66,696 |
| Alexandria Township | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Oskaloosa Township | under 2% | A− | B | 27 min | $84,688 |
| Sarcoxie Township | under 2% | A− | D | 29 min | $121,250 |
| Tonganoxie Township | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Alexandria Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Tonganoxie Township: 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.
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 Union Township: questions
What is the median household income in Union Township?
$81,835 (±$8,993) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union Township?
4.4%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union Township?
38 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lawrence (23%, 17 mi), Topeka (9%, 28 mi), Oskaloosa (8%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Union Township walkable?
Union Township is more walkable than 10% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Union Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and <1% 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.
More of Union Township
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.