Photo: Smgross at English Wikipedia · Public domainHouseholds in St. Louis earn less than those in 87% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 13.4% of residents, against 13.2% across Michigan. St. Louis grades C+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. About one in ten stay in St. Louis for work; outside it, Alma is the main destination (11%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets St. Louis apart on work
The jobs in St. Louis pay better than its residents’ jobs
67% of the jobs based in St. Louis pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 44% of the jobs St. Louis residents hold. 91% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside St. Louis. The jobs ↓
Commutes from St. Louis are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker, and quicker than any town next door (19 to 23 minutes). Time on the road ↓
St. Louis has added jobs fast
Jobs based in St. Louis went from 1,277 in 2011 to 1,900 in 2021, +49%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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 ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for St. Louis
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, St. Louis is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #517 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds St. Louis’ grade up (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($51,167, U.S. $80,734).
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, St. Louis could be anywhere from D to B.
67% of the jobs in St. Louis pay over $3,333 a month
1,900 jobs are based in St. Louis.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. Louis, 2011 → 2021: 1,277 → 1,900. 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 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs St. Louis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
St. Louis’ commute takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. Louis workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,335 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from St. Louis
About 34% 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 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
How a workday changes St. Louis
On a workday 1,405 residents head out to work, 167 work right here, and 1,733 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.21 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
The places St. Louis commutes to
Where St. Louis clocks in
11% of workers
4% 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.
Most trips from St. Louis start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, St. Louis is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #360 of 701 in Michigan. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,441 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.6% of St. Louis households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of St. Louis’ commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, St. Louis is 2,181st of 3,083 U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,179 | Oronoko Township MI | 9,074 | $60K | 16.8% | 3.9% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,180 | Alexandria IN | 5,223 | $64K | 7.8% | 7.2% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,181 | St. Louis MI | 7,406 | $51K | 13.4% | 2.8% | 11% | C+ |
| 2,182 | Bar Harbor ME | 5,352 | $77K | 10.1% | 4.4% | 57% | C+ |
| 2,183 | River Park FL | 5,714 | $55K | 6.7% | 9.5% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,083 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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. Louis, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 14% of St. Louis
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. Louis workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | – | C+ | C+ | 16 min | $51,167 |
| Pine River Township | 3% | B− | C+ | 21 min | $71,073 |
| Bethany Township | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 23 min | $80,461 |
| Alma | 11% | D | A | 19 min | $53,307 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Alma. Darker towns draw more of St. Louis’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 2021, 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. Louis: questions
What is the median household income in St. Louis?
$51,167 (±$11,885) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. Louis?
13.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. Louis?
16 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. Louis work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alma (11%, 3 mi), Mount Pleasant (4%, 15 mi), Ithaca (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is St. Louis walkable?
St. Louis is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. Louis without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. Louis, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. Louis
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, 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.