Photo: Public domain · Public domainWhere Liberal earns its living
About one in ten work in Liberal itself; outside it, Pittsburg draws the most (12%, 14 miles). 4% of workers work from home (Missouri 13%). The average commute takes 25 minutes each way (Missouri 24, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Liberal: the figures worth knowing
A lot of Liberal workers cross into Kansas
21% of Liberal workers work outside Missouri, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Pittsburg (12%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Few Liberal workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 249 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Liberal’s working residents head each day
Where Liberal clocks in
12% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Liberal
About 31% 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.
The daily trip from Liberal: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Liberal workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 306 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% 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 works in Liberal, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 229 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 138 people come in from elsewhere.
About 550 people are in Liberal on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.63 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.
Most jobs in Liberal are in services
158 jobs are based in Liberal.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Liberal, 2013 → 2023: 197 → 158. 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 Liberal’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 Liberal: questions
What is the median household income in Liberal?
$65,250 (±$17,238) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Liberal?
14.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Liberal?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Liberal work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburg (12%, 14 mi), Lamar (9%, 14 mi), Joplin (6%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Liberal without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Liberal, from the people who make the trip.
More of Liberal
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.