Topeka draws more than half of Wakarusa’s working residents
Hardly any stay in Wakarusa for work; outside it, Topeka is the main destination (61%, 10 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 22 minutes, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 9 jobs are based in Wakarusa, and 114 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Wakarusa: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 114 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 9 people come in from elsewhere.
About 100 people are in Wakarusa on a workday afternoon, 50% fewer than live here.
0.08 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 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Wakarusa work
Where Wakarusa clocks in
61% 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.
Goods, not services: 56% of the jobs in Wakarusa
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wakarusa, 2013 → 2023: 3 → 9. 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 Wakarusa’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes each way for Wakarusa’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wakarusa workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 76 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.
The commute from Wakarusa, by distance
About 18% 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.
Work in the towns next to Wakarusa
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wakarusa workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakarusa | – | — | — | 22 min | $58,583 |
| Ridgeway Township | under 1% | B+ | C | 24 min | $80,547 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wakarusa’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 Wakarusa: questions
What is the median household income in Wakarusa?
$58,583 (±$46,297) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wakarusa?
12.4%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wakarusa?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wakarusa work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Wakarusa 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 Wakarusa, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wakarusa
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.