Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0Chesterfield has higher household incomes than 92% of U.S. towns
Chesterfield grades A+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Poverty touches 3.9% of residents (Missouri 12.6%). Working from home is the commute for 27% of workers (Missouri 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Chesterfield
Chesterfield is where the jobs are
Chesterfield has 51,414 jobs, 2.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 79,000 people are in town, 61% more than the 49,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Chesterfield
27% of Chesterfield workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Time on the road ↓
Chesterfield draws workers from far and wide
The 51,414 jobs in Chesterfield are filled from a wide area. Chesterfield’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The biggest group of Chesterfield’s workers comes from St. Louis
3,022 of the people who work in Chesterfield live in St. Louis, 18 miles away, more than from any other town. 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 Chesterfield earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chesterfield is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #14 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, 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, Chesterfield could be anywhere from A to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Chesterfield
On a workday 18,336 residents head out to work, 2,968 work right here, and 48,446 people come in from elsewhere.
About 79,000 people are in Chesterfield on a workday afternoon, 61% more than live here.
2.4 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
From Chesterfield, about 22 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chesterfield workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,453 commuters (the 27% 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.
Where Chesterfield’s workers come from
Where Chesterfield clocks in
13% 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.
69% of the jobs in Chesterfield pay over $3,333 a month
51,414 jobs are based in Chesterfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chesterfield, 2013 → 2023: 45,911 → 51,414. 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 Chesterfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Chesterfield commutes less than 10 miles
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 Chesterfield, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chesterfield is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns, #132 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below 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 23,771 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 32% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 61% 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). 3.8% of Chesterfield households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Chesterfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Chesterfield is 35th among 887 U.S. towns of 35,000 to 67,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| 3 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | New Berlin WI | 39,953 | $101K | 4.1% | 2.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 34 | Liberty Township OH | 45,723 | $148K | 3.8% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| 35 | Chesterfield MO | 49,309 | $133K | 3.9% | 3.2% | 14% | A+ |
| 36 | Marlboro Township NJ | 42,254 | $186K | 3.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A+ |
| 37 | Fort Mill SC | 38,673 | $122K | 4.8% | 2.3% | 15% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 128 | St. Peters MO | 61,479 | $92K | 5.6% | 2.3% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 157 | Wentzville MO | 49,495 | $112K | 5.4% | 2.7% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 231 | Oakville MO | 35,333 | $106K | 6.4% | 4.0% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 887 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Chesterfield, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns next door employ 17% of Chesterfield
The biggest share goes to Creve Coeur (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chesterfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield | – | A+ | B | 22 min | $133,037 |
| Town and Country | 4% | A+ | B+ | 20 min | $232,534 |
| Wildwood | under 2% | A+ | B− | 27 min | $161,060 |
| Ballwin | under 2% | A | B− | 26 min | $124,626 |
| Creve Coeur | 7% | A+ | A− | 19 min | $127,188 |
| Clarkson Valley | under 2% | A+ | C | 22 min | $247,000 |
| Maryland Heights | 6% | A | A− | 21 min | $86,436 |
| Weldon Spring | under 2% | A | C | 22 min | $158,548 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chesterfield’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 Chesterfield: questions
What is the median household income in Chesterfield?
$133,037 (±$6,243) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chesterfield?
3.9%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chesterfield?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 27% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chesterfield work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (13%, 18 mi), Creve Coeur (7%, 7 mi), Maryland Heights (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Chesterfield walkable?
Chesterfield is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chesterfield without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chesterfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chesterfield
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.