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Jobs & commute in Waco

With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Waco works elsewhere

There are 21 jobs in Waco for 141 working residents. Hardly any work in Waco; the top destination outside it is York (30%, 7 miles). For 2% of workers, the job is at home, where Nebraska as a whole has 11%.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Who leaves Waco for work, and who comes in

On a workday 141 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 21 people come in from elsewhere.

141live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
21work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night310
Workday190
310live here− 140head out to work+ 21come in to work= 190on a workday

About 190 people are in Waco on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.15jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

The places Waco commutes to

WichitaBenedict: 2 residents work here (1%)GreshamThayer: 2 residents work here (1%)WacoBradshaw: 2 residents work here (1%)CerescoShelbyAdamsHenderson: 3 residents work here (2%)Osceola: 2 residents work here (1%)WymoreSuperiorWayneAurora: 5 residents work here (4%)York: 43 residents work here (30%)Grand Island: 3 residents work here (2%)Lincoln: 19 residents work here (13%)Omaha: 9 residents work here (6%)YorkLincolnOmahaAuroraHendersonGrand IslandWaco
1
York7.1 mi away
30%43
2
Lincoln41.6 mi away
13%19
3
Omaha77.6 mi away
6%9
4
Aurora28.6 mi away
4%5
5
Henderson20 mi away
2%3
6
Grand Island46.9 mi away
2%3
7
Benedict10.7 mi away
1%2
8
Thayer5.4 mi away
1%2
9
Bradshaw14.9 mi away
1%2
10
Osceola20 mi away
1%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
36%51
The top trips

Where Waco clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

71% of the jobs in Waco pay over $3,333 a month

Jobs based in WacoJobs Waco residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%21%
Trade, transport & utilities71%23%
Services: health, schools, offices29%56%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less19%22%
$1,251–$3,333 a month10%23%
Over $3,333 a month71%55%

Who does it

29 or younger10%22%
30 to 5452%46%
55 and older38%32%
+11%

Jobs based in Waco, 2013 → 2023: 19 → 21. 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 Waco’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 21 minutes each way for Waco’s commuters

A year of commuting
162 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Waco21 min
Nebraska19 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
3%

of Waco workers work from home, vs 11% across Nebraska. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Waco gets to work
77%Drive alone
15%Carpool
8%Walk

Share of the 79 commuters (the 2% 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

The distance from Waco to work

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miYork: 30% · 7.1 miLincoln: 13% · 41.6 miOmaha: 6% · 77.6 miAurora: 4% · 28.6 miHenderson: 2% · 20 miGrand Island: 2% · 46.9 miBenedict: 1% · 10.7 miThayer: 1% · 5.4 miBradshaw: 1% · 14.9 miOsceola: 1% · 20 miYork 30%Lincoln 13%Omaha 6%Aurora 4%Henderson 2%Waco
WacoTop destinations (size = commuters)
43%Under 10 mi61 residents
12%10–24 mi17 residents
26%25–50 mi36 residents
19%Over 50 mi27 residents

About 19% 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Waco: questions

What is the median household income in Waco?

$76,250 (±$20,335) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $76,475 across Nebraska and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Waco?

2.4%, against 10.6% across Nebraska and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Waco?

21 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Nebraska and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Waco work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are York (30%, 7 mi), Lincoln (13%, 42 mi), Omaha (6%, 78 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Waco without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Waco, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Waco

Waco home →

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.