Wildwood House · Photo: Chuck Morris · CC BY-SA 3.0Ferguson has lower household incomes than 90% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 10.8 in St. Louis. Below the poverty line: 24.2% of residents; Missouri has 12.6%. Ferguson grades C for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Ferguson
Ferguson and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Ferguson residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Ferguson come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Ferguson residents work close to home
63% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. 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.
The four measures behind Ferguson’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ferguson is better than 28% of U.S. towns, #155 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds Ferguson’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ferguson could be anywhere from C− to B−.
21% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Ferguson clocks in
21% 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.
Ferguson’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.
Who works in Ferguson, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 7,819 residents head out to work, 229 work right here, and 4,430 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in Ferguson on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.58 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.
What the 4,659 jobs in Ferguson are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ferguson, 2013 → 2023: 5,198 → 4,659. 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 Ferguson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Ferguson: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ferguson workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,698 commuters (the 17% 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.
In Ferguson, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ferguson is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #8 of 247 in Missouri. Both inputs place Ferguson near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,047 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 96% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 11.6% of Ferguson households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Ferguson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ferguson next to U.S. towns of 13,000 to 24,000: 1,495th of 1,822 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Dardenne Prairie MO | 15,032 | $153K | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 144 | Creve Coeur MO | 18,480 | $127K | 6.1% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 202 | Webster Groves MO | 23,450 | $115K | 4.2% | 3.7% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,493 | Hope Mills NC | 18,324 | $66K | 14.1% | 8.2% | 5% | C |
| 1,494 | Albert Lea MN | 18,217 | $65K | 12.8% | 5.7% | 54% | C |
| 1,495 | Ferguson MO | 17,953 | $48K | 24.2% | 5.9% | 3% | C |
| 1,496 | Shelby NC | 23,309 | $48K | 17.6% | 3.6% | 23% | C |
| 1,497 | Marquette MI | 21,944 | $56K | 22.4% | 4.3% | 56% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,822 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Ferguson, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Around Ferguson: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Berkeley (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ferguson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferguson | – | C | A+ | 24 min | $47,524 |
| Dellwood | under 3% | C+ | A | 24 min | $72,540 |
| Cool Valley | under 3% | C | A | 17 min | $53,560 |
| Calverton Park | under 3% | B− | B+ | 25 min | $68,021 |
| Jennings | under 3% | C− | A+ | 27 min | $38,984 |
| Normandy | under 3% | C | A+ | 19 min | $29,379 |
| Kinloch | under 3% | — | — | 45 min | — |
| Berkeley | 3% | C | A | 21 min | $44,265 |
| Florissant | 3% | B | A− | 26 min | $65,318 |
Same-state neighbors only. Kinloch: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ferguson’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 Ferguson: questions
What is the median household income in Ferguson?
$47,524 (±$6,766) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ferguson?
24.2%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ferguson?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ferguson work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (21%, 8 mi), Maryland Heights (6%, 10 mi), Florissant (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ferguson walkable?
Ferguson is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.6 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ferguson without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ferguson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ferguson
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.