Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0There are 10.2 jobs in Fenton for every working resident, and 20,120 people commute in
Measured by household income, Fenton is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Fenton are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in ten work in Fenton itself; outside it, St. Louis draws the most (16%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Fenton at work: what stands out
Fenton fills up on a workday
Fenton has 20,284 jobs, 10.2 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 22,000 people are in town, 6 times the 4,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
Fenton draws workers from far and wide
The 20,284 jobs in Fenton are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 22%; the other 77% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 Fenton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fenton is better than 77% of U.S. towns, #60 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds Fenton’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (8.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fenton could be anywhere from B to A+.
Fenton on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,824 residents head out to work and 164 work right here.
About 22,000 people are in Fenton on a workday afternoon, 451% more than live here.
10.2 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 Fenton’s workers come from
Where Fenton clocks in
16% of workers
5% 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.
28% of the jobs in Fenton make or build things
20,284 jobs are based in Fenton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fenton, 2013 → 2023: 16,337 → 20,284. 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 Fenton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Fenton’s commute takes about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fenton workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,682 commuters (the 13% 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.
Fenton’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Fenton is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fenton is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #95 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% 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 1,943 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 2.0% of Fenton households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Fenton’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Fenton ranks: 1,011th of 4,283 U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,500
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 189 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 245 | Weldon Spring MO | 5,301 | $159K | 0.7% | 4.2% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,009 | Mahoning Township PA | 4,469 | $86K | 3.7% | 3.6% | 33% | A− |
| 1,010 | Winnebago IL | 2,903 | $93K | 6.6% | 3.4% | 7% | A− |
| 1,011 | Fenton MO | 4,060 | $101K | 3.5% | 8.1% | 8% | A− |
| 1,012 | Netcong NJ | 3,924 | $84K | 7.7% | 3.5% | 4% | A− |
| 1,013 | Reminderville OH | 5,336 | $107K | 8.5% | 4.2% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,283 | 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 Fenton, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns around Fenton
The biggest share goes to Sunset Hills (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fenton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fenton | – | A− | B+ | 25 min | $101,000 |
| Sunset Hills | 2% | A | B+ | 21 min | $138,144 |
| Murphy | under 2% | B | B | 25 min | $72,233 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fenton’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 Fenton: questions
What is the median household income in Fenton?
$101,000 (±$6,638) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fenton?
3.5%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fenton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fenton work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (16%, 13 mi), Maryland Heights (5%, 13 mi), Chesterfield (5%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fenton walkable?
Fenton is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fenton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fenton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fenton
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.