Photo: RebelAt at English Wikipedia · Public domainAnderson’s household incomes are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns
4% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Poverty touches 17.7% of residents; Missouri has 12.6%. Jobs and income earn Anderson D; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Anderson
Fewer jobs are based in Anderson than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Anderson fell from 1,150 in 2013 to 621 in 2023, −46%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Fewer than half of Anderson workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Anderson’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 16% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Few Anderson workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 870 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Anderson
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Anderson is better than 14% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Anderson’s grade up (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($53,966, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Anderson could be anywhere from D− to C+.
In Anderson, 32% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
621 jobs are based in Anderson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Anderson, 2013 → 2023: 1,150 → 621. 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 Anderson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Anderson, about 20 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Anderson workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,079 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 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.
The daily flow of workers through Anderson
On a workday 811 residents head out to work, 59 work right here, and 562 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Anderson on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.71 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.
10% of working residents work in Noel
Where Anderson clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
How far Anderson’s workers travel
About 20% 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.
For most of Anderson, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Anderson is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.2% across Missouri, on an EPA index of 5.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,128 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). 11.2% of Anderson households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Anderson’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Anderson ranks: 4,169th of 5,148 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Weatherby Lake MO | 2,139 | $153K | 3.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 48 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,167 | Diana NY | 1,607 | $59K | 11.5% | 2.1% | 5% | D |
| 4,168 | Lake Arthur LA | 2,569 | $54K | 23.3% | 4.7% | 10% | D |
| 4,169 | Anderson MO | 2,073 | $54K | 17.7% | 5.3% | 7% | D |
| 4,170 | Rouses Point NY | 2,179 | $46K | 11.9% | 5.3% | 11% | D |
| 4,171 | Mill City OR | 2,125 | $69K | 17.5% | 8.2% | 7% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Anderson, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns around Anderson
The biggest share goes to Pineville (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Anderson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson | – | D | B− | 20 min | $53,966 |
| Pineville | 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Pineville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Anderson’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 Anderson: questions
What is the median household income in Anderson?
$53,966 (±$6,807) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Anderson?
17.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Anderson?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Anderson work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Noel (10%, 8 mi), Joplin (8%, 29 mi), Neosho (7%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Anderson walkable?
Anderson is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Anderson without a car?
1% 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 Anderson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Anderson
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.