Work means St. Joseph for about half of De Kalb’s working residents
0% of workers work from home; Missouri has 13%. Hardly any stay in De Kalb for work; outside it, St. Joseph is the main destination (49%, 13 miles). Commuters spend 28 minutes getting to work on average, where Missouri has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through De Kalb
On a workday 100 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.
About 150 people are in De Kalb on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.10 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.
Commuting out of De Kalb: the destinations
Where De Kalb clocks in
49% of workers
9% 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.
Making and building: 70% of jobs based in De Kalb
10 jobs are based in De Kalb.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in De Kalb, 2013 → 2023: 63 → 10. 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 De Kalb’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From De Kalb, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of De Kalb workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 240 commuters (the 0% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from De Kalb
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 De Kalb: questions
What is the median household income in De Kalb?
$94,028 (±$33,717) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in De Kalb?
7.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from De Kalb?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in De Kalb work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around De Kalb without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from De Kalb, from the people who make the trip.
More of De Kalb
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.