Photo: Tristan Arbet · CC BY 4.0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as high as Frontenac’s
Measured by household income, Frontenac is among the highest-earning towns in the country. The poverty rate is 2.0% (Missouri 12.6%). Frontenac grades A+ for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Frontenac: the figures worth knowing
Most Frontenac residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Frontenac is where the jobs are
Frontenac has 2,579 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Frontenac and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Frontenac residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Frontenac come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
Frontenac averages 25 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (14 to 22 minutes). Next door ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Frontenac
74% of Frontenac residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 54% of the jobs based in Frontenac pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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 Frontenac’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Frontenac is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #13 of 247 in Missouri. Household income holds Frontenac’s grade up ($233,425, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Frontenac could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Where in the region Frontenac works
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.
Frontenac fills up on a workday
On a workday 1,433 residents head out to work, 22 work right here, and 2,557 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,900 people are in Frontenac on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.8 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.
The towns that send workers to Frontenac
Where Frontenac clocks in
20% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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 2,579 jobs based in Frontenac
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Frontenac, 2013 → 2023: 2,863 → 2,579. 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 Frontenac’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Frontenac: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Frontenac workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,199 commuters (the 21% 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 Frontenac, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Frontenac is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #183 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,512 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 41% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 1.7% of Frontenac households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Frontenac’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,100, Frontenac ranks 174th of 4,153 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Burton Township IL | 4,885 | $126K | 3.1% | 2.5% | 3% | A+ |
| 173 | Priceville AL | 3,952 | $117K | 2.2% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| 174 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| 175 | Janesville WI | 3,699 | $103K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| 176 | Farmington WI | 3,586 | $102K | 1.3% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 274 | Rock Hill MO | 4,668 | $95K | 5.2% | 2.6% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 363 | Lake Lotawana MO | 2,756 | $166K | 2.3% | 4.4% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,153 | 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 Frontenac, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Next door is work for 15% of Frontenac
The biggest share goes to Creve Coeur (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Frontenac workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontenac | – | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $233,425 |
| Huntleigh | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Des Peres | 3% | A+ | B | 16 min | $224,327 |
| Westwood | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Ladue | under 2% | A+ | B− | 14 min | $250,000+ |
| Crystal Lake Park | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Creve Coeur | 6% | A+ | A− | 19 min | $127,188 |
| Town and Country | 4% | A+ | B+ | 20 min | $232,534 |
| Kirkwood | 2% | A | A− | 20 min | $121,270 |
Same-state neighbors only. Huntleigh, Westwood and Crystal Lake Park: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Frontenac’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 Frontenac: questions
What is the median household income in Frontenac?
$233,425 (±$50,929) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Frontenac?
2.0%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Frontenac?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Frontenac work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (20%, 9 mi), Clayton (7%, 5 mi), Creve Coeur (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Frontenac walkable?
Frontenac is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Frontenac without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Frontenac, from the people who make the trip.
More of Frontenac
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.