Work, pay and getting to work in Fordland
The average commute takes 29 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, where Missouri as a whole has 13%. Only 2% stay in Fordland for work; outside it, Springfield is the main destination (39%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Fordland apart on work
39% of Fordland works in Springfield
95 working residents, 39%, have their main job in Springfield, 20 miles away. That’s 20 times as many as work in Fordland itself. The commute map ↓
Fordland workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Fordland workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 243 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where the trip to work from Fordland ends
Where Fordland clocks in
39% 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.
The trip to work from Fordland: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fordland workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 258 commuters (the 4% 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.
Fordland by day and by night
On a workday 238 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 152 people come in from elsewhere.
About 740 people are in Fordland on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
157 jobs are based in Fordland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fordland, 2013 → 2023: 216 → 157. 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 Fordland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Fordland
About 18% 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.
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 Fordland: questions
What is the median household income in Fordland?
$53,571 (±$12,589) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fordland?
19.0%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fordland?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fordland work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (39%, 20 mi), Seymour (3%, 10 mi), Rogersville (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fordland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fordland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fordland
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.