Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Clinton has 1.6 jobs for every working resident: 4,134 people commute in to work
Jobs & income C−: better than 18% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #193 of 247 in Missouri.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns · #79 of 247 in Missouri.
Household incomes here are lower than in 86% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 14 minutes each way (Missouri 24, U.S. 26). About two in five work in Clinton; the top destination outside it is Springfield (4%, 85 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Clinton
Commutes from Clinton are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 24 across Missouri. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Missouri worker. Time on the road ↓
Clinton is where the jobs are
Clinton has 5,663 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Clinton draws workers from far and wide
The 5,663 jobs in Clinton are filled from a wide area. Clinton’s own residents hold 27% and the ten next-biggest home towns 16%; the other 57% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 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 Clinton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clinton is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #193 of 247 in Missouri. Unemployment holds Clinton’s grade up (4.7%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($51,250, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clinton could be anywhere from D to C+.
About 14 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 4.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clinton workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,590 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Clinton fills up on a workday
On a workday 2,118 residents head out to work, 1,529 work right here, and 4,134 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Clinton on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
1.6 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.
Where Clinton’s workers come from
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Clinton clocks in
4% 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 Clinton commutes less than 19 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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 2023.
What the 5,663 jobs in Clinton are
5,663 jobs are based in Clinton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Clinton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clinton, 2013 → 2023: 5,406 → 5,663. 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.
Most trips from Clinton start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clinton is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #79 of 247 in Missouri. Both inputs place Clinton 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 3,799 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). 7.1% of Clinton households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Clinton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Clinton is 2,421st of 2,764 U.S. towns of 6,700 to 12,800 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Clinton, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Town and Country MO | 11,619 | $233K | 1.7% | 2.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,419 | Keokuk IA | 9,510 | $53K | 18.3% | 4.9% | 45% | C− |
| 2,420 | Ludington MI | 7,634 | $46K | 22.5% | 3.6% | 25% | C− |
| 2,421 | Clinton MO | 9,504 | $51K | 15.2% | 4.7% | 42% | C− |
| 2,422 | Bellevue OH | 8,154 | $54K | 18.9% | 6.4% | 21% | C− |
| 2,423 | Adams MA | 7,934 | $59K | 13.2% | 5.6% | 15% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,764 | 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.
Clinton and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Fields Creek Township (1%). Darker towns draw more of Clinton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clinton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | – | C− | B+ | 14 min | $51,250 |
| Clinton Township | under 2% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Fields Creek Township | 1% | D | B | 16 min | $42,965 |
Same-state neighbors only. Clinton Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Clinton: questions
What is the median household income in Clinton?
$51,250 (±$7,851) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clinton?
15.2%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clinton?
14 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clinton work?
42% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (4%, 85 mi), Kansas City (4%, 67 mi), Warrensburg (3%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clinton walkable?
Clinton is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clinton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clinton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clinton
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.