Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Ironton are lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Ironton itself; outside it, Farmington draws the most (8%, 17 miles). 14.5% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.6% across Missouri. The two grades for Ironton are D 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 short version on getting to work from Ironton
A big share show a job far from home
39% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Ironton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Ironton fell from 1,007 in 2013 to 735 in 2023, −27%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Fewer than half of Ironton workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Ironton’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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; with 541 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Ironton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Ironton is better than 9% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Ironton’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($46,750, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (3.6%) is left out: Ironton’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Ironton could be anywhere from D− to C−.
Where in the region Ironton works
About 39% 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.
Most jobs in Ironton are in services
735 jobs are based in Ironton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ironton, 2013 → 2023: 1,007 → 735. 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 Ironton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Ironton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 452 residents head out to work, 89 work right here, and 646 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Ironton on a workday afternoon, 14% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 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.
Where people from Ironton work
Where Ironton clocks in
8% of workers
5% 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 23 minutes to work from Ironton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ironton workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 586 commuters (the 9% 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.
Driving is how Ironton gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ironton is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Ironton 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 644 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). 8.5% of Ironton households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ironton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ironton next to U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900: 4,934th of 5,877 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Loch Lloyd MO | 1,090 | $184K | 2.5% | 0.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | LaBarque Creek MO | 1,457 | $133K | 1.1% | 1.7% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,932 | Newell WV | 1,246 | $60K | 25.8% | 18.2% | 3% | D |
| 4,933 | Hampton AR | 1,145 | $46K | 13.1% | 6.3% | 7% | D |
| 4,934 | Ironton MO | 1,408 | $47K | 14.5% | 3.6% | 16% | D |
| 4,935 | Tekamah NE | 1,705 | $57K | 18.6% | 0.9% | 21% | D |
| 4,936 | Richfield Springs NY | 1,092 | $56K | 25.6% | 3.1% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Ironton, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Around Ironton: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Pilot Knob (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ironton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ironton | – | D | B+ | 23 min | $46,750 |
| Pilot Knob | 5% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Arcadia | 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Pilot Knob and Arcadia: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ironton’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 Ironton: questions
What is the median household income in Ironton?
$46,750 (±$5,567) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ironton?
14.5%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ironton?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ironton work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Farmington (8%, 17 mi), Pilot Knob (5%, 2 mi), St. Louis (3%, 75 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ironton walkable?
Ironton is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ironton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ironton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ironton
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.