Stradal House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0At 1.4%, unemployment in WaKeeney is lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 13 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. The two grades for WaKeeney are B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. About two in five work in WaKeeney; the top destination outside it is Hays (11%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in WaKeeney, in a few figures
WaKeeney’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside WaKeeney is Hays, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (83) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from WaKeeney are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 20 across Kansas. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kansas 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 778 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where WaKeeney’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, WaKeeney is better than 52% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds WaKeeney’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, WaKeeney could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Short hops and long hauls from WaKeeney
About 26% 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.
About 13 minutes to work from WaKeeney
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of WaKeeney workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 866 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.
How many people are in WaKeeney by day
On a workday 449 residents head out to work, 329 work right here, and 534 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.11 per resident).
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 WaKeeney work
Where WaKeeney clocks in
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.
What WaKeeney’s employers do
863 jobs are based in WaKeeney.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in WaKeeney, 2013 → 2023: 1,067 → 863. 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 WaKeeney’s own residents hold wherever they work.
WaKeeney is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, WaKeeney is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place WaKeeney 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 975 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). 4.2% of WaKeeney households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of WaKeeney’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, WaKeeney is 2,208th of 6,085 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Oxford Township KS | 2,058 | $163K | 1.9% | 2.1% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Lexington Township KS | 1,512 | $135K | 0.0% | 2.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Westwood KS | 1,720 | $118K | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,206 | Springdale Township PA | 1,463 | $62K | 12.1% | 1.7% | 2% | B− |
| 2,207 | Harpersville AL | 2,019 | $75K | 8.2% | 0.7% | 3% | B− |
| 2,208 | WaKeeney KS | 1,746 | $68K | 7.4% | 1.4% | 42% | B− |
| 2,209 | Cottonwood Shores TX | 1,701 | $63K | 8.2% | 1.9% | 1% | B− |
| 2,210 | Middlefork Township IL | 1,295 | $79K | 4.8% | 3.1% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | 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 WaKeeney, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
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 WaKeeney: questions
What is the median household income in WaKeeney?
$68,438 (±$20,452) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in WaKeeney?
7.4%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from WaKeeney?
13 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in WaKeeney work?
42% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hays (11%, 32 mi), Quinter (3%, 19 mi), Hill City (3%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is WaKeeney walkable?
WaKeeney is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around WaKeeney without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from WaKeeney, from the people who make the trip.
More of WaKeeney
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.