Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Paxton
Home is the office for 4% of workers, where Nebraska as a whole has 11%. Only 8% stay in Paxton for work; outside it, Ogallala is the main destination (36%, 19 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 20 minutes, next to 19 for Nebraska and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Paxton
On a workday 154 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 163 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 (1.05 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.
The towns that employ Paxton’s residents
Where Paxton clocks in
36% 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.
What Paxton’s employers do
176 jobs are based in Paxton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Paxton, 2013 → 2023: 177 → 176. 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 Paxton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Paxton’s commute takes 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 Paxton workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 311 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.
Paxton’s commute, mile by mile
About 29% 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 Paxton: questions
What is the median household income in Paxton?
$66,875 (±$31,427) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Paxton?
5.5%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Paxton?
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 Paxton work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ogallala (36%, 19 mi), North Platte (7%, 31 mi), Lincoln (5%, 245 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Paxton 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 Paxton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Paxton
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.