Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 3.0Making a living in Hillsboro
Working residents average 34 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. The two grades for Hillsboro are B− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 5% stay in Hillsboro for work; outside it, St. Louis is the main destination (11%, 33 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Hillsboro in brief
Hillsboro workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Hillsboro’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Hillsboro is St. Louis, 33 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (170) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Nearly all the work in Hillsboro is services
91% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
Jobs & income in Hillsboro: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hillsboro is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #108 of 247 in Missouri. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Hillsboro’s grade. It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hillsboro could be anywhere from C− to A−.
About 34 minutes to work from Hillsboro
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hillsboro workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,377 commuters (the 11% 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.
Miles to work from Hillsboro
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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Hillsboro
2,194 jobs are based in Hillsboro.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hillsboro, 2013 → 2023: 1,859 → 2,194. 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 Hillsboro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Hillsboro: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,487 residents head out to work, 81 work right here, and 2,113 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,100 people are in Hillsboro on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.40 per resident).
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 places Hillsboro commutes to
Where Hillsboro clocks in
11% of workers
3% 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.
For most of Hillsboro, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hillsboro is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns, #170 of 247 in Missouri. Both inputs place Hillsboro 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 1,547 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 0.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% 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). 4.0% of Hillsboro households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hillsboro’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Hillsboro is 2,358th among 4,535 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 112 | Clarkson Valley MO | 2,540 | $247K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 185 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,356 | Stock Island FL | 4,162 | $66K | 11.5% | 1.8% | 9% | B− |
| 2,357 | West Point GA | 3,661 | $57K | 12.7% | 0.5% | 14% | B− |
| 2,358 | Hillsboro MO | 3,493 | $78K | 11.7% | 4.2% | 5% | B− |
| 2,359 | Woodstock Township MI | 3,578 | $69K | 12.9% | 1.3% | 7% | B− |
| 2,360 | Wayne Township PA | 2,404 | $74K | 4.6% | 8.0% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | 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 Hillsboro, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
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 Hillsboro: questions
What is the median household income in Hillsboro?
$77,500 (±$22,384) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hillsboro?
11.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hillsboro?
34 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hillsboro work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (11%, 33 mi), Chesterfield (3%, 29 mi), Festus (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hillsboro walkable?
Hillsboro is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hillsboro without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hillsboro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hillsboro
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.