How Brainard works: jobs, income and commuting
A typical one-way commute lasts 21 minutes, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. Only 5% stay in Brainard for work; outside it, Lincoln is the main destination (26%, 31 miles). Brainard has 112 jobs, and 149 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Brainard
On a workday 142 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 105 people come in from elsewhere.
About 320 people are in Brainard on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.75 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 the trip to work from Brainard ends
Where Brainard clocks in
26% of workers
8% 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.
Jobs in Brainard: what the 112 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brainard, 2013 → 2023: 157 → 112. 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 Brainard’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Brainard: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brainard workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 172 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Nebraska: 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Brainard
About 15% 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.
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 Brainard: questions
What is the median household income in Brainard?
$68,750 (±$15,895) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brainard?
6.9%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brainard?
21 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brainard work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lincoln (26%, 31 mi), Omaha (8%, 50 mi), David City (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Brainard without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brainard, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brainard
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.