Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Kirkwood are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
5.3% of residents live below the poverty line; Missouri has 12.6%. Jobs and income earn Kirkwood A; getting around on foot earns it A−. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 10.8 in St. Louis.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Kirkwood apart on work
Kirkwood trades workers with the towns around it
Kirkwood has about as many jobs (12,063) as working residents (12,963), but they are mostly different people: 12,061 residents leave for work each day while 11,161 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Kirkwood are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Kirkwood draws workers from far and wide
The 12,063 jobs in Kirkwood are filled from a wide area. Kirkwood’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Kirkwood and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Kirkwood residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Kirkwood come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A lot of Kirkwood works from home
23% of Kirkwood workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Time on the road ↓
Most Kirkwood residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Kirkwood’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kirkwood is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #20 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kirkwood could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily flow of workers through Kirkwood
On a workday 12,061 residents head out to work, 902 work right here, and 11,161 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 (0.93 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.
19% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Kirkwood clocks in
19% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
From Kirkwood, about 20 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kirkwood workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,882 commuters (the 23% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Kirkwood
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.
The 12,063 jobs based in Kirkwood
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kirkwood, 2013 → 2023: 12,059 → 12,063. 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 Kirkwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Kirkwood
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kirkwood is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #41 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% 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 14,129 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 3% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 66% 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). 4.6% of Kirkwood households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Kirkwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Kirkwood is 126th among 1,366 U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Wildwood MO | 34,955 | $161K | 2.2% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Ballwin MO | 30,901 | $125K | 4.8% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Needham MA | 32,897 | $214K | 3.7% | 4.4% | 10% | A |
| 125 | Frankfort IL | 21,365 | $154K | 3.2% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| 126 | Kirkwood MO | 29,331 | $121K | 5.3% | 3.1% | 7% | A |
| 127 | Highland UT | 21,571 | $186K | 1.9% | 3.9% | 5% | A |
| 128 | Wellesley MA | 31,239 | $250K | 4.0% | 4.4% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 143 | Webster Groves MO | 23,450 | $115K | 4.2% | 3.7% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Kirkwood, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Next door to Kirkwood
The biggest share goes to Des Peres (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kirkwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkwood | – | A | A− | 20 min | $121,270 |
| Des Peres | 3% | A+ | B | 16 min | $224,327 |
| Glendale | under 2% | A+ | A− | 19 min | $170,700 |
| Sunset Hills | under 2% | A | B+ | 21 min | $138,144 |
| Warson Woods | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 21 min | $206,979 |
| Oakland | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 20 min | $114,861 |
| Crestwood | under 2% | A+ | B | 20 min | $107,169 |
| Frontenac | under 2% | A+ | C+ | 25 min | $233,425 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kirkwood’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 Kirkwood: questions
What is the median household income in Kirkwood?
$121,270 (±$12,464) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kirkwood?
5.3%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kirkwood?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kirkwood work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (19%, 10 mi), Creve Coeur (5%, 6 mi), Chesterfield (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kirkwood walkable?
Kirkwood is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kirkwood without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 3% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kirkwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kirkwood
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.