For more than half of its working residents, Valley Center is a commute to Wichita
6% of workers work from home; Kansas has 12%. For jobs and income Valley Center is better than 79% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (C). About one in ten work in Valley Center itself; outside it, Wichita draws the most (55%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Valley Center: the gist
More than half of Valley Center works in Wichita
1,872 working residents, 55%, have their main job in Wichita, 10 miles away across the town line. That’s 5 times as many as work in Valley Center itself. The commute map ↓
Valley Center workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (18 to 21 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Valley Center
The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.6%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($77,020, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Valley Center could be anywhere from B to A.
Where the trip to work from Valley Center ends
Where Valley Center clocks in
55% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Each way, about 29 minutes from Valley Center
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Valley Center workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,271 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.
Who leaves Valley Center for work, and who comes in
On a workday 3,022 residents head out to work, 391 work right here, and 1,515 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Valley Center on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.56 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.
What the 1,906 jobs in Valley Center are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Valley Center, 2014 → 2024: 1,429 → 1,906. 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 Valley Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Valley Center
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.
Most of Valley Center commutes by car
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 3,474 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 40% 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). 8.8% of Valley Center households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Valley Center’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Valley Center is 809th among 3,051 U.S. towns of 5,400 to 10,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Pleasant Township KS | 5,459 | $113K | 0.8% | 1.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 195 | Tecumseh Township KS | 7,829 | $110K | 2.7% | 1.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 247 | Eudora Township KS | 7,870 | $119K | 4.6% | 2.3% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 807 | Gilford NH | 7,898 | $117K | 6.2% | 1.3% | 16% | A− |
| 808 | Hebron KY | 6,407 | $107K | 10.0% | 3.2% | 6% | A− |
| 809 | Valley Center KS | 7,685 | $77K | 3.6% | 3.5% | 11% | A− |
| 810 | Union Township IN | 9,494 | $116K | 9.1% | 3.0% | 5% | A− |
| 811 | Skidaway Island GA | 9,315 | $136K | 2.5% | 5.7% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,051 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Valley Center, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Next door is work for 57% of Valley Center
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Valley Center workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Center | – | A− | C | 29 min | $77,020 |
| Park City | 2% | B+ | B+ | 21 min | $74,301 |
| Kechi Township | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 21 min | $77,764 |
| Wichita | 55% | C+ | B+ | 18 min | $64,620 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Wichita. Darker towns draw more of Valley Center’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 Valley Center: questions
What is the median household income in Valley Center?
$77,020 (±$7,940) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Valley Center?
3.6%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Valley Center?
29 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Valley Center work?
11% work in town.
Is Valley Center walkable?
Valley Center is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Valley Center without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Valley Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Valley Center
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. 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.