Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0Brentwood draws 11,975 commuters a day, with 3.0 jobs for every working resident
There are 12,143 jobs in Brentwood, and 4,092 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income Brentwood is better than 95% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (A). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 10.8 in St. Louis.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Brentwood: the gist
Brentwood fills up on a workday
Brentwood has 12,143 jobs, 3.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 16,000 people are in town, more than double the 8,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Brentwood residents work close to home
78% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Brentwood draws workers from far and wide
The 12,143 jobs in Brentwood are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 30%; the other 69% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Brentwood and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Brentwood residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Brentwood come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Three in four Brentwood workers earn over $40,000 a year
77% of Brentwood’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Brentwood’s grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($99,719, U.S. $80,734). 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, Brentwood could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Brentwood by day and by night
On a workday 3,924 residents head out to work and 168 work right here.
About 16,000 people are in Brentwood on a workday afternoon, 100% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where in the region Brentwood works
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Where the people who work in Brentwood live
Where Brentwood clocks in
23% of workers
8% 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.
The kinds of work in Brentwood
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brentwood, 2014 → 2024: 11,203 → 12,143. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Brentwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Brentwood: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brentwood workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,891 commuters (the 18% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Brentwood
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above the 3.2% across Missouri.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,757 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 96% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 9% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% 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). 1.2% of Brentwood households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Brentwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 5,700 to 10,900, Brentwood ranks 239th of 2,966 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 237 | Eucalyptus Hills CA | 5,840 | $144K | 3.3% | 3.5% | 1% | A |
| 238 | Oak Grove MN | 9,476 | $118K | 1.7% | 3.0% | 4% | A |
| 239 | Brentwood MO | 8,079 | $100K | 5.1% | 2.4% | 4% | A |
| 240 | Wilton CA | 6,433 | $190K | 5.3% | 1.3% | 3% | A |
| 241 | Milliken CO | 9,183 | $108K | 2.4% | 0.5% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,966 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Brentwood, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Work in the towns next to Brentwood
The biggest share goes to Webster Groves (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brentwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brentwood | – | A | A | 19 min | $99,719 |
| Webster Groves | 2% | A | A | 19 min | $115,227 |
| Maplewood | under 3% | A− | A+ | 18 min | $65,125 |
| Richmond Heights | under 3% | A | A− | 18 min | $94,460 |
| Rock Hill | under 3% | A | B+ | 20 min | $95,372 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brentwood’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 2024, 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 Brentwood: questions
What is the median household income in Brentwood?
$99,719 (±$17,050) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brentwood?
5.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brentwood?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brentwood work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (23%, 6 mi), Clayton (8%, 2 mi), Maryland Heights (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Brentwood walkable?
Brentwood is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 15.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brentwood without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 9% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brentwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brentwood
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.