Independence Township’s household incomes are lower than in 81% of U.S. towns
18.4% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.6% across Missouri. The two grades for Independence Township are D for jobs and income and B for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 3% of workers, next to 13% for Missouri as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Independence Township
Independence Township and Kennett trade workers both ways
Kennett is the top workplace for Independence Township residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Independence Township come from (35% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Few Independence Township workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Where Independence Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Independence Township is better than 14% of U.S. towns, #209 of 247 in Missouri. Unemployment holds Independence Township’s grade up (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Independence Township could be anywhere from D to C+.
36% of working residents work in Kennett
Where Independence Township clocks in
36% 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.
About 22 minutes each way, about the MO average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Independence Township workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,604 commuters (the 3% 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.
Independence Township by day and by night
On a workday 2,645 residents head out to work, 1,534 work right here, and 2,464 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 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 kinds of work in Independence Township
3,998 jobs are based in Independence Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Independence Township, 2013 → 2023: 4,817 → 3,998. 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 Independence Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Independence Township, by distance
About 25% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
In Independence Township, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Independence Township is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #129 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% 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 4,765 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.2% of Independence Township households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Independence Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000, and where Independence Township sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Town and Country MO | 11,619 | $233K | 1.7% | 2.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,471 | Sallisaw OK | 8,790 | $48K | 29.5% | 4.8% | 33% | D |
| 2,472 | Escanaba MI | 12,257 | $45K | 17.7% | 5.2% | 48% | D |
| 2,473 | Independence Township MO | 11,792 | $56K | 18.4% | 5.3% | 37% | D |
| 2,474 | Fort Madison IA | 9,935 | $51K | 15.0% | 7.3% | 37% | D |
| 2,475 | Little Falls MN | 9,277 | $48K | 18.7% | 6.1% | 36% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Independence Township, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns around Independence Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Independence Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Township | – | D | B | 22 min | $55,521 |
| Salem Township | under 2% | D− | C | 27 min | $40,352 |
| Clay Township | under 2% | D− | B− | 24 min | $50,000 |
| Holcomb Township | under 2% | D | D | 29 min | $49,167 |
| Freeborn Township | under 2% | D− | C | 31 min | $45,882 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Independence Township’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 Independence Township: questions
What is the median household income in Independence Township?
$55,521 (±$7,890) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Independence Township?
18.4%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Independence Township?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Independence Township work?
37% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kennett (36%, 0 mi), Senath (3%, 10 mi), Paragould (3%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Independence Township walkable?
Independence Township is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Independence Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Independence Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Independence Township
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.