Photo: Atomic Energy505 · CC BY-SA 3.0For more than half of its working residents, Papillion is a commute to Omaha
Measured by household income, Papillion is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. Papillion grades A for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in seven stay in Papillion for work; outside it, Omaha is the main destination (56%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Papillion at work: what stands out
More than half of Papillion works in Omaha
7,100 working residents, 56%, have their main job in Omaha, 8.3 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Papillion itself. The commute map ↓
Most Papillion residents work close to home
79% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 3% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Papillion’s working residents have a job less than 7 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 23 minutes, longer than the Nebraska average of 19. Time on the road ↓
Papillion has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Papillion went from 12,378 in 2013 to 16,682 in 2023, +35%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Papillion’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Papillion is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #8 of 57 in Nebraska. Household income is its strongest input ($111,679, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Papillion could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Out of Papillion to work: where people go
Where Papillion clocks in
56% of workers
5% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Papillion
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.
Each way, about 23 minutes from Papillion
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Papillion workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,649 commuters (the 15% 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.
Inside Papillion’s 16,682 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Papillion, 2013 → 2023: 12,378 → 16,682. 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 Papillion’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Papillion for work, and who comes in
On a workday 11,176 residents head out to work, 1,590 work right here, and 15,092 people come in from elsewhere.
About 29,000 people are in Papillion on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.31 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.
Most of Papillion commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Papillion is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns, #40 of 57 in Nebraska. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.5% across Nebraska.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 13,699 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 14% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.1% of Papillion households have no vehicle (Nebraska 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Papillion’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Papillion ranks: 272nd of 1,516 U.S. towns of 18,000 to 34,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 270 | Cheshire CT | 30,983 | $147K | 5.0% | 4.1% | 13% | A |
| 271 | Raritan Township NJ | 25,281 | $165K | 3.4% | 4.2% | 12% | A |
| 272 | Papillion NE | 25,127 | $112K | 5.3% | 3.2% | 12% | A |
| 273 | Buckhall VA | 21,602 | $180K | 6.0% | 3.5% | 2% | A |
| 274 | Mill Creek East WA | 25,453 | $193K | 4.1% | 4.4% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,012 | Columbus NE | 25,248 | $65K | 11.3% | 2.4% | 49% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,023 | Fremont NE | 28,350 | $71K | 11.6% | 4.2% | 43% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,133 | Hastings NE | 25,121 | $64K | 14.8% | 2.9% | 54% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,516 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Papillion, the top three, the last and three more from Nebraska.
Papillion and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to La Vista (4%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Papillion’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 Papillion: questions
What is the median household income in Papillion?
$111,679 (±$7,646) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Papillion?
5.3%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Papillion?
23 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Papillion work?
12% work in town.
Is Papillion walkable?
Papillion is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Papillion without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Papillion, from the people who make the trip.
More of Papillion
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.