Photo: Rowen Hansen · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Grain Valley commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
There are 3,376 jobs in Grain Valley; 7,973 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Grain Valley is better than 80% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (C+). Only 6% work in Grain Valley itself; outside it, Kansas City draws the most (25%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The figures behind Grain Valley’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment is its strongest input (1.8%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (9.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Grain Valley could be anywhere from B to A.
The daily flow of workers through Grain Valley
On a workday 7,471 residents head out to work, 502 work right here, and 2,874 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Grain Valley on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
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 Grain Valley’s working residents head each day
Where Grain Valley clocks in
25% of workers
11% of workers
10% 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 kinds of work in Grain Valley
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grain Valley, 2013 → 2023: 2,533 → 3,376. 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 Grain Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Grain Valley, about 26 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grain Valley workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,265 commuters (the 18% 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.
Where in the region Grain Valley 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.
Driving is how Grain Valley gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% 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 8,858 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 4.8% of Grain Valley households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Grain Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Grain Valley is 645th among 1,999 U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Dardenne Prairie MO | 15,032 | $153K | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Crestwood MO | 12,207 | $107K | 5.5% | 1.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 156 | Creve Coeur MO | 18,480 | $127K | 6.1% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 643 | Bonita CA | 12,652 | $119K | 7.5% | 4.8% | 2% | A− |
| 644 | Lincolnia VA | 20,320 | $122K | 7.7% | 5.4% | 3% | A− |
| 645 | Grain Valley MO | 16,908 | $90K | 9.7% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| 646 | Lemon Township OH | 17,447 | $102K | 7.9% | 3.5% | 8% | A− |
| 647 | Stoughton WI | 13,256 | $80K | 7.1% | 1.9% | 14% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | 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 Grain Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
11% of Grain Valley works in a town next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Grain Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grain Valley | – | A− | C+ | 26 min | $89,649 |
| Blue Springs | 11% | A− | C+ | 26 min | $88,920 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Blue Springs. Darker towns draw more of Grain Valley’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 Grain Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Grain Valley?
$89,649 (±$7,523) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grain Valley?
9.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grain Valley?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Grain Valley work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (25%, 20 mi), Blue Springs (11%, 3 mi), Independence (10%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Grain Valley walkable?
Grain Valley is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Grain Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Grain Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grain Valley
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.