Ridgeway · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainSt. Matthews has 3.0 jobs for every working resident: 24,854 people commute in to work
Employers in St. Matthews report 25,601 jobs; 8,420 of its residents have a job. St. Matthews grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 4.7 in Louisville.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
St. Matthews at work: what stands out
St. Matthews has far more jobs than workers
St. Matthews has 25,601 jobs, 3.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 35,000 people are in town, 96% more than the 18,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most St. Matthews residents work close to home
80% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
St. Matthews and Louisville trade workers both ways
Louisville is the top workplace for St. Matthews residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in St. Matthews come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in St. Matthews
18% of St. Matthews workers work from home, against 10% across Kentucky. Time on the road ↓
St. Matthews draws workers from far and wide
The 25,601 jobs in St. Matthews are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 38%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in St. Matthews
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, St. Matthews is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #28 of 142 in Kentucky. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.8%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, St. Matthews could be anywhere from B to A.
The daily flow of workers through St. Matthews
On a workday 7,673 residents head out to work and 747 work right here.
About 35,000 people are in St. Matthews on a workday afternoon, 96% more 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from St. Matthews
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.
Where St. Matthews’ workforce comes from
Where St. Matthews clocks in
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.
St. Matthews’ commute takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. Matthews workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,564 commuters (the 18% 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.
Most jobs in St. Matthews are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. Matthews, 2013 → 2023: 21,937 → 25,601. 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 St. Matthews’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Walkable streets, thin transit: St. Matthews
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, St. Matthews is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #31 of 142 in Kentucky. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.1% across Kentucky.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,459 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 42% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.9% of St. Matthews households have no vehicle (Kentucky 6.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of St. Matthews’ commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, St. Matthews is 656th among 1,822 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 24,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 269 | Burlington KY | 18,008 | $109K | 5.5% | 2.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 401 | Fort Thomas KY | 17,142 | $104K | 6.1% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 651 | Mount Washington KY | 18,989 | $96K | 5.3% | 4.6% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 654 | Calera AL | 18,992 | $87K | 7.3% | 2.7% | 7% | A− |
| 655 | Warrenville IL | 15,211 | $100K | 11.3% | 3.7% | 3% | A− |
| 656 | St. Matthews KY | 17,868 | $82K | 7.2% | 3.8% | 9% | A− |
| 657 | South Whitehall Township PA | 21,655 | $103K | 7.0% | 4.9% | 10% | A− |
| 658 | St. Simons GA | 16,228 | $109K | 4.5% | 2.8% | 30% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of St. Matthews, the top three, the last and three more from Kentucky.
St. Matthews and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Lyndon (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. Matthews workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Matthews | – | A− | A− | 20 min | $82,412 |
| Beechwood Village | under 1% | A | B+ | 23 min | $118,333 |
| Norwood | under 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Woodlawn Park | under 1% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Graymoor-Devondale | under 1% | A | B+ | 22 min | $96,667 |
| Windy Hills | under 1% | A+ | B+ | 18 min | $130,714 |
| Lyndon | 3% | B | A− | 19 min | $65,679 |
| Bellewood | under 1% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Maryhill Estates | under 1% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| Brownsboro Village | under 1% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Norwood, Woodlawn Park, Bellewood, Maryhill Estates and Brownsboro Village: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of St. Matthews’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 St. Matthews: questions
What is the median household income in St. Matthews?
$82,412 (±$7,749) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $63,726 across Kentucky and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. Matthews?
7.2%, against 16.1% across Kentucky and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. Matthews?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Kentucky and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. Matthews work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Louisville (19%, 4 mi), Jeffersontown (5%, 5 mi), Watterson Park (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is St. Matthews walkable?
St. Matthews is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 15.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. Matthews without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 42% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. Matthews, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. Matthews
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.