Atkins-Johnson Farmhouse Property · Photo: 25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 4.0For about two in five of its working residents, Gladstone is a commute to Kansas City
Jobs and income earn Gladstone B+; getting around on foot earns it B. Only 5% stay in Gladstone for work; outside it, Kansas City is the main destination (42%, 6 miles). Working residents average 23 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Gladstone, in a few figures
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Gladstone
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Gladstone is better than 69% of U.S. towns, #72 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds Gladstone’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (11.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Gladstone could be anywhere from B to A−.
Where the trip to work from Gladstone ends
Where Gladstone clocks in
42% 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 daily commute in and out of Gladstone
On a workday 12,999 residents head out to work, 627 work right here, and 7,217 people come in from elsewhere.
About 22,000 people are in Gladstone on a workday afternoon, 21% 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.
Jobs in Gladstone: what the 7,844 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gladstone, 2013 → 2023: 7,851 → 7,844. 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 Gladstone’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 23 minutes from Gladstone
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gladstone workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,507 commuters (the 15% 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.
How far it is to work from Gladstone
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.
Gladstone is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Gladstone is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #116 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% 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 13,484 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 65% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 8.6% of Gladstone households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Gladstone’s commuters take a bus or train.
Gladstone next to U.S. towns of 19,000 to 37,000: 734th of 1,509 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Wildwood MO | 34,955 | $161K | 2.2% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 127 | Ballwin MO | 30,901 | $125K | 4.8% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Kirkwood MO | 29,331 | $121K | 5.3% | 3.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 732 | Winter Gardens CA | 22,131 | $98K | 9.3% | 5.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 733 | Carrollwood FL | 36,725 | $82K | 8.4% | 4.5% | 5% | B+ |
| 734 | Gladstone MO | 27,497 | $79K | 11.0% | 3.3% | 5% | B+ |
| 735 | Lincoln RI | 23,713 | $105K | 7.4% | 7.3% | 13% | B+ |
| 736 | Cherry Hill VA | 26,044 | $122K | 8.6% | 6.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,509 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Gladstone, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Gladstone and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gladstone workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gladstone | – | B+ | B | 23 min | $79,271 |
| Oakwood | under 3% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Oakview | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Oakwood Park | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Oakwood, Oakview and Oakwood Park: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gladstone’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 Gladstone: questions
What is the median household income in Gladstone?
$79,271 (±$5,864) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gladstone?
11.0%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gladstone?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gladstone work?
5% work in town.
Is Gladstone walkable?
Gladstone is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Gladstone without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gladstone, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gladstone
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.