Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Fewer people are out of work in Crystal City (2.2%) than in 82% of U.S. towns
5% of workers have no commute at all; Missouri has 13%. Crystal City grades B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 8% stay in Crystal City for work; outside it, St. Louis is the main destination (9%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Crystal City stands out on work
Crystal City is where the jobs are
Crystal City has 3,233 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Crystal City workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Crystal City’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Crystal City is St. Louis, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (204) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
Inside Crystal City’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Crystal City is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #75 of 247 in Missouri. Unemployment holds Crystal City’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (11.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Crystal City could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The daily commute in and out of Crystal City
On a workday 1,981 residents head out to work, 171 work right here, and 3,062 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,800 people are in Crystal City on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.5 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.
Time on the road from Crystal City: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Crystal City workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,197 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Crystal City commutes
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.
Where Crystal City’s workers come from
Where Crystal City clocks in
9% of workers
9% 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 work there is in Crystal City: 3,233 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Crystal City, 2013 → 2023: 3,514 → 3,233. 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 Crystal City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Crystal City start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Crystal City is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #153 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 2,309 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 5% 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 5.3% of Crystal City households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Crystal City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Crystal City is 1,313th among 3,798 U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 176 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,311 | La Vale MD | 4,196 | $78K | 4.6% | 3.3% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,312 | Russell KY | 3,628 | $76K | 4.7% | 3.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,313 | Crystal City MO | 4,694 | $73K | 11.4% | 2.2% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,314 | Ranlo NC | 4,848 | $78K | 5.5% | 5.7% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,315 | Shrewsbury PA | 4,014 | $102K | 4.2% | 6.3% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,798 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Crystal City, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns next door employ 12% of Crystal City
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Crystal City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal City | – | B+ | B− | 32 min | $72,598 |
| Festus | 9% | C+ | B | 26 min | $73,532 |
| Herculaneum | 3% | A | B | 29 min | $93,438 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Festus. Darker towns draw more of Crystal City’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 Crystal City: questions
What is the median household income in Crystal City?
$72,598 (±$13,013) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Crystal City?
11.4%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Crystal City?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Crystal City work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (9%, 30 mi), Festus (9%, 2 mi), Arnold (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Crystal City walkable?
Crystal City is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Crystal City without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Crystal City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Crystal City
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.