William H. Charlton House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0More than half of Sprague’s working residents commute to Lincoln
The average commute takes 31 minutes each way (Nebraska 19, U.S. 26). Hardly any work in Sprague itself; outside it, Lincoln draws the most (61%, 13 miles). There are 52 jobs in Sprague for 67 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Sprague
On a workday 67 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 52 people come in from elsewhere.
About 120 people are in Sprague on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 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 Sprague’s residents
Where Sprague clocks in
61% of workers
9% 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.
75% of the jobs in Sprague pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sprague, 2013 → 2023: 15 → 52. 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 Sprague’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Sprague, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sprague workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 59 commuters (the 16% 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.
How far Sprague’s workers travel
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 Sprague: questions
What is the median household income in Sprague?
$81,250 (±$30,983) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sprague?
19.3%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sprague?
31 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sprague work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Sprague without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sprague, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sprague
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.