Photo: Rowen Hansen · CC BY-SA 4.0Making a living in Drexel
The trip to work takes 38 minutes on average, where Missouri has 24 and the U.S. 26. Only 3% stay in Drexel for work; outside it, Kansas City is the main destination (18%, 43 miles). Employers in Drexel report 234 jobs, and 397 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Drexel and work: the main findings
Drexel’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Drexel is Kansas City, 43 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (70) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Drexel workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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; with 397 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far Drexel’s workers travel
About 16% 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.
About 38 minutes to work from Drexel
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Drexel workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 379 commuters (the 12% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Drexel
On a workday 384 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 221 people come in from elsewhere.
About 820 people are in Drexel on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.59 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 Drexel commutes to
Where Drexel clocks in
18% 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.
The kinds of work in Drexel
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Drexel, 2013 → 2023: 255 → 234. 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 Drexel’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Around Drexel: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Drexel workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drexel | – | — | — | 38 min | $54,519 |
| West Boone Township | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. West Boone Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Drexel’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 Drexel: questions
What is the median household income in Drexel?
$54,519 (±$13,017) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Drexel?
5.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Drexel?
38 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Drexel work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (18%, 43 mi), Harrisonville (9%, 17 mi), Overland Park (6%, 27 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Drexel without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Drexel, from the people who make the trip.
More of Drexel
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.