Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0For about half of its working residents, Ferguson is a commute to Somerset
Employers in Ferguson report 148 jobs, against 253 working residents. Working residents average 16 minutes each way, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home; Kentucky has 10%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Ferguson apart on work
Nearly half of Ferguson works in Somerset
115 working residents, 45%, have their main job in Somerset, 1.7 miles away across the town line. That’s far more as work in Ferguson itself. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Ferguson are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 24 across Kentucky. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Kentucky worker. Time on the road ↓
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 253 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Ferguson to work: where people go
Where Ferguson clocks in
45% of workers
3% 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.
Ferguson’s commute takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ferguson workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 278 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Kentucky: 85% 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.
In and out of Ferguson on a workday
On a workday 253 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 148 people come in from elsewhere.
About 760 people are in Ferguson on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Ferguson makes things: 32% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ferguson, 2013 → 2023: 59 → 148. 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 Ferguson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Ferguson goes to work
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.
Next door is work for 45% of Ferguson
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Somerset. Darker towns draw more of Ferguson’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 Ferguson: questions
What is the median household income in Ferguson?
$40,500 (±$18,099) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ferguson?
34.1%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ferguson?
16 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ferguson work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Ferguson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ferguson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ferguson
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.