Photo: Bhall87 · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Wakarusa Township works elsewhere
For jobs and income Wakarusa Township is better than 90% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (C). 477 jobs are based in Wakarusa Township, against 999 working residents. Household incomes here are higher than in 76% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Wakarusa Township
Wakarusa Township and Lawrence trade workers both ways
Lawrence is the top workplace for Wakarusa Township residents (39%) and also where the most people who work in Wakarusa Township come from (37% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
62% of the jobs in Wakarusa Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 18% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Wakarusa Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Wakarusa Township fell from 638 in 2013 to 477 in 2023, −25%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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 999 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Wakarusa Township earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate is its strongest input (3.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns). 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, Wakarusa Township could be anywhere from B to A+.
39% of working residents work in Lawrence
Where Wakarusa Township clocks in
39% of workers
6% 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.
65% of the jobs in Wakarusa Township pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wakarusa Township, 2013 → 2023: 638 → 477. 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 Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Wakarusa Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 984 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 462 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Wakarusa Township 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.
The trip to work from Wakarusa Township: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wakarusa Township workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 964 commuters (the 19% 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 Wakarusa Township’s workers travel
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.
Few in Wakarusa Township walk, bike or ride to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.4% across Kansas, on an EPA index of 4.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,188 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 41% 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). 0.0% of Wakarusa Township households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wakarusa Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Wakarusa Township ranks: 351st of 5,404 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Lexington Township KS | 1,512 | $135K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Westwood KS | 1,720 | $118K | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 349 | Silver Creek Township MN | 2,620 | $116K | 5.0% | 1.8% | 3% | A |
| 350 | Township 7 NE | 2,760 | $93K | 5.3% | 0.3% | 5% | A |
| 351 | Wakarusa Township KS | 2,173 | $99K | 3.7% | 2.2% | 2% | A |
| 352 | Benton Township OH | 2,358 | $116K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 2% | A |
| 353 | Crystal Lawns IL | 1,766 | $82K | 7.0% | 0.9% | <1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Wakarusa Township, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
Next door is work for 39% of Wakarusa Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wakarusa Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakarusa Township | – | A | C | 23 min | $99,375 |
| Lawrence | 39% | B+ | A | 20 min | $65,009 |
| Grant Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Rural Township | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Eudora Township | under 2% | A | C | 23 min | $118,632 |
| Palmyra Township | under 2% | B | B+ | 27 min | $80,562 |
| Clinton Township | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Willow Springs Township | under 2% | B | C+ | 24 min | $90,817 |
| Reno Township | under 2% | A | D− | 33 min | $76,793 |
| Lecompton Township | under 2% | B+ | D | 29 min | $95,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Grant Township, Rural Township and Clinton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lawrence. Darker towns draw more of Wakarusa 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 Wakarusa Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wakarusa Township?
$99,375 (±$22,780) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wakarusa Township?
3.7%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wakarusa Township?
23 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wakarusa Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lawrence (39%, 3 mi), Overland Park (7%, 30 mi), Topeka (6%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wakarusa Township walkable?
Wakarusa Township is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wakarusa Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wakarusa Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wakarusa 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.