Photo: Nyttend · Public domainCaruthersville’s household incomes are lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income D−: better than 2% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #245 of 247 in Missouri.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns · #65 of 247 in Missouri.
Working residents average 18 minutes each way (Missouri 24, U.S. 26). About one in three work in Caruthersville; the top destination outside it is Hayti (9%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Caruthersville
Commutes from Caruthersville are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 24 across Missouri. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Missouri worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Caruthersville workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Caruthersville’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind Caruthersville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Caruthersville is better than 2% of U.S. towns, #245 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Caruthersville’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Caruthersville could be anywhere from D− to C−.
About 18 minutes each way, quicker than most of Missouri
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Caruthersville workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,850 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
What the 1,852 jobs in Caruthersville are
1,852 jobs are based in Caruthersville. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Caruthersville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Caruthersville, 2013 → 2023: 2,297 → 1,852. 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 1,251 residents head out to work, 622 work right here, and 1,230 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 (0.99 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Hayti
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Caruthersville clocks in
9% of workers
4% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Caruthersville commutes less than 16 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 27% 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.
Most trips from Caruthersville start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Caruthersville is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #65 of 247 in Missouri. Both inputs place Caruthersville near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,947 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). 12.3% of Caruthersville households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Caruthersville’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Caruthersville compares with U.S. towns of 3,600 to 7,000
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Caruthersville, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 106 | Cottleville MO | 6,717 | $131K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,658 | Winnsboro LA | 4,566 | $36K | 43.5% | 10.9% | 30% | D− |
| 3,659 | Louisville MS | 5,921 | $37K | 39.3% | 10.3% | 39% | D− |
| 3,660 | Caruthersville MO | 5,211 | $35K | 31.4% | 9.0% | 33% | D− |
| 3,661 | Walton NY | 5,134 | $49K | 25.3% | 9.9% | 27% | D− |
| 3,662 | Tiffin Township OH | 5,305 | $38K | 24.7% | 8.2% | 18% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,696 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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.
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 Caruthersville: questions
What is the median household income in Caruthersville?
$34,652 (±$4,619) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Caruthersville?
31.4%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Caruthersville?
18 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Caruthersville work?
33% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hayti (9%, 6 mi), Dyersburg (4%, 19 mi), Kennett (3%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Caruthersville walkable?
Caruthersville is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Caruthersville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Caruthersville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Caruthersville
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.