Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainJobs and the daily commute in Nelson
18% of workers have no commute at all, where Nebraska as a whole has 11%. About one in ten work in Nelson; the top destination outside it is Superior (10%, 12 miles). The trip to work takes 21 minutes on average, where Nebraska has 19 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 167 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 133 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 (0.82 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.
Out of Nelson to work: where people go
Where Nelson clocks in
10% 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.
Inside Nelson’s 155 jobs
155 jobs are based in Nelson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nelson, 2013 → 2023: 304 → 155. 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 Nelson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 21 minutes from Nelson
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nelson workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 207 commuters (the 19% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Nelson
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.
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 Nelson: questions
What is the median household income in Nelson?
$50,000 (±$15,871) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nelson?
8.5%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nelson?
21 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nelson work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Superior (10%, 12 mi), Clay Center (7%, 22 mi), Hastings (6%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Nelson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nelson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nelson
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.