Work means St. Joseph for about two in three of Cosby’s working residents
Hardly any work in Cosby itself; outside it, St. Joseph draws the most (67%, 10 miles). Working from home is the commute for 30% of workers, next to 13% for Missouri as a whole. The average commute takes 26 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Cosby: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 39 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 18 people come in from elsewhere.
About 93 people are in Cosby on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.46 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.
The places Cosby commutes to
Where Cosby clocks in
67% of workers
8% of workers
3% 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.
What Cosby’s employers do
18 jobs are based in Cosby.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cosby, 2013 → 2023: 8 → 18. 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 Cosby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes each way, longer than most of Missouri
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cosby workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 42 commuters (the 30% 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.
How many miles Cosby commutes
About 15% 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.
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 Cosby: questions
What is the median household income in Cosby?
$57,917 (±$42,804) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cosby?
3.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cosby?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cosby work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Cosby without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 22% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cosby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cosby
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.