Cook has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 3% work in Cook itself; outside it, Lincoln draws the most (34%, 34 miles). There are 44 jobs in Cook, against 155 working residents. 5% of workers work from home (Nebraska 11%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Cook
On a workday 151 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 40 people come in from elsewhere.
About 200 people are in Cook on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
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 Cook ends
Where Cook clocks in
34% of workers
14% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Cook
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cook, 2013 → 2023: 60 → 44. 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 Cook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Cook: 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 Cook workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 161 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.
Miles to work from Cook
About 18% 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 Cook: questions
What is the median household income in Cook?
$65,714 (±$7,309) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cook?
10.7%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cook?
20 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cook work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lincoln (34%, 34 mi), Omaha (14%, 52 mi), Tecumseh (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cook without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cook
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.