Thomas J. Majors Farmstead · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Most of Peru commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Peru has 53 jobs, and 245 of its residents work somewhere. Only 2% stay in Peru for work; outside it, Auburn is the main destination (17%, 8 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 14 minutes, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Peru, in brief
Peru and Auburn trade workers both ways
Auburn is the top workplace for Peru residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Peru come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
44% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Peru is a place people come home to
There are 53 jobs based in Peru, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Peru has about 500 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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; with 245 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The towns that employ Peru’s residents
Where Peru clocks in
15% of workers
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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Peru
About 44% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Peru
On a workday 240 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere.
About 500 people are in Peru on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Peru, 2013 → 2023: 262 → 53. 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 Peru’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Peru’s commute takes about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Peru workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 291 commuters (the 7% 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.
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 Peru: questions
What is the median household income in Peru?
$44,028 (±$28,569) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Peru?
26.6%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Peru?
14 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Peru work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Auburn (17%, 8 mi), Lincoln (15%, 54 mi), Omaha (10%, 57 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Peru without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Peru, from the people who make the trip.
More of Peru
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.