Vassar has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Working residents average 34 minutes each way, next to 20 for Kansas and 26 for the U.S. There are 45 jobs in Vassar for 243 working residents. Only 2% work in Vassar; the top destination outside it is Topeka (19%, 27 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Vassar in brief
Vassar is a place people come home to
There are 45 jobs based in Vassar, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Vassar’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Vassar is Topeka, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (47) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Vassar workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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 243 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
A workday in Vassar: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 239 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 41 people come in from elsewhere.
About 630 people are in Vassar on a workday afternoon, 24% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Vassar
About 24% 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.
Getting to work from Vassar takes about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vassar workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 326 commuters (the 11% 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.
Where the trip to work from Vassar ends
Where Vassar clocks in
19% of workers
7% 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.
In Vassar, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vassar, 2013 → 2023: 5 → 45. 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 Vassar’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Vassar: questions
What is the median household income in Vassar?
$68,036 (±$21,665) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vassar?
6.3%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vassar?
34 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vassar work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Topeka (19%, 27 mi), Lyndon (12%, 5 mi), Ottawa (7%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Vassar 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 Vassar, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vassar
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.