Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Imperial are higher than in 68% of U.S. towns
Only 3% stay in Imperial for work; outside it, St. Louis is the main destination (17%, 21 miles). Below the poverty line: 11.1% of residents, next to 12.6% for Missouri as a whole. Imperial grades B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The four measures behind Imperial’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Imperial is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #78 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds Imperial’s grade up (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Imperial could be anywhere from C to A+.
Who leaves Imperial for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,139 residents head out to work, 60 work right here, and 1,203 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,600 people are in Imperial on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.57 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.
Out of Imperial to work: where people go
Where Imperial clocks in
17% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
What the 1,263 jobs in Imperial are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Imperial, 2013 → 2023: 1,519 → 1,263. 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 Imperial’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Imperial, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Imperial workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,631 commuters (the 10% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Imperial
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.
Most of Imperial commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Imperial is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns, #161 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 2,920 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 Imperial households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Imperial’s commuters take a bus or train.
Imperial places 1,359th of 3,612 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Cottleville MO | 6,717 | $131K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,357 | West York PA | 5,110 | $81K | 12.0% | 3.4% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,358 | Hollidaysburg PA | 5,470 | $69K | 8.2% | 2.2% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,359 | Imperial MO | 5,488 | $90K | 11.1% | 4.5% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,360 | Island Park NY | 5,069 | $105K | 12.5% | 5.8% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,361 | Ranson corporation WV | 6,853 | $90K | 12.0% | 2.5% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,612 | 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 Imperial, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns around Imperial
The biggest share goes to Arnold (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Imperial’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 Imperial: questions
What is the median household income in Imperial?
$90,028 (±$26,961) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Imperial?
11.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Imperial?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Imperial work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (17%, 21 mi), Arnold (7%, 5 mi), Fenton (4%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Imperial walkable?
Imperial is more walkable than 51% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Imperial 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 Imperial, from the people who make the trip.
More of Imperial
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.