Clay County Courthouse · Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainWork, pay and getting to work in Clay Center
Commuters spend 20 minutes getting to work on average, where Nebraska has 19 and the U.S. 26. About one in ten work in Clay Center itself; outside it, Hastings draws the most (20%, 18 miles). Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, where Nebraska as a whole has 11%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Clay Center on a workday
On a workday 281 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 341 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 (1.19 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 Clay Center: the destinations
Where Clay Center clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Clay Center
375 jobs are based in Clay Center.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clay Center, 2013 → 2023: 310 → 375. 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 Clay Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Clay Center: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clay Center workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 390 commuters (the 4% 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.
Miles to work from Clay Center
About 24% 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.
Next door to Clay Center
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clay Center workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Center | – | — | — | 20 min | $82,500 |
| Lone Tree Township | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
| Marshall Township | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
| Lynn Township | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
| Lewis Township | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lone Tree Township, Marshall Township, Lynn Township and Lewis Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clay Center’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 Clay Center: questions
What is the median household income in Clay Center?
$82,500 (±$18,053) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clay Center?
4.1%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clay Center?
20 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clay Center work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hastings (20%, 18 mi), Lincoln (6%, 75 mi), Inland Township (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Clay Center 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 Clay Center, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clay Center
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.