Patterson Law Office · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainCentral City has some of the lowest unemployment in the country, with hardly anyone out of work
The average commute takes 18 minutes each way, next to 19 for Nebraska and 26 for the U.S. Central City grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in three work in Central City; the top destination outside it is Grand Island (18%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Central City, in brief
Jobs & income in Central City: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Central City is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #17 of 57 in Nebraska. Unemployment holds Central City’s grade up (hardly any, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 23% 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, Central City could be anywhere from B to A−.
Near or far: the trip to work from Central City
About 19% 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.
How a workday changes Central City
On a workday 984 residents head out to work, 445 work right here, and 957 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 (0.98 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.
Commuting out of Central City: the destinations
Where Central City clocks in
18% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
The 1,402 jobs based in Central City
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Central City, 2013 → 2023: 1,064 → 1,402. 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 Central City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Central City: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Central City workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,417 commuters (the 5% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Central City
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Central City is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #14 of 57 in Nebraska. Both inputs place Central City 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 1,498 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). 3.9% of Central City households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Central City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Central City places 1,222nd of 4,698 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 194 | Township 2 NE | 3,213 | $116K | 4.0% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 297 | Valley NE | 3,412 | $110K | 5.3% | 2.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 362 | Hickman NE | 3,663 | $104K | 2.6% | 1.7% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,220 | West DeLand FL | 3,632 | $76K | 6.5% | 3.2% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,221 | Red Bud IL | 3,761 | $72K | 4.9% | 2.3% | 26% | B+ |
| 1,222 | Central City NE | 3,184 | $73K | 4.1% | 0.0% | 31% | B+ |
| 1,223 | Roanoke Township IL | 2,381 | $82K | 4.8% | 3.1% | 17% | B+ |
| 1,224 | Vernon Township MI | 4,296 | $64K | 7.3% | 0.6% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Central City, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
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 Central City: questions
What is the median household income in Central City?
$73,229 (±$14,299) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Central City?
4.1%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Central City?
18 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Central City work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Island (18%, 23 mi), Aurora (4%, 17 mi), Lincoln (4%, 72 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Central City walkable?
Central City is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Central City 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 Central City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Central City
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.