Photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0Lemay has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Jobs and income earn Lemay B; getting around on foot earns it A−. Lemay has 3,788 jobs; 7,429 of its residents have a job. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.9 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 stands out about work in Lemay
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Lemay
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lemay is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #83 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds Lemay’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($60,399, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lemay could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
23% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Lemay clocks in
23% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Lemay
On a workday 7,158 residents head out to work, 271 work right here, and 3,517 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Lemay on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
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 Lemay
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lemay, 2013 → 2023: 3,523 → 3,788. 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 Lemay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way, about the MO average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lemay workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,878 commuters (the 12% 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.
The commute from Lemay, by distance
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 Lemay, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lemay is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #46 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% 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 7,792 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 72% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 21% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 75% 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). 7.5% of Lemay households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Lemay’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Lemay is 1,199th among 2,220 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Town and Country MO | 11,619 | $233K | 1.7% | 2.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Dardenne Prairie MO | 15,032 | $153K | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Crestwood MO | 12,207 | $107K | 5.5% | 1.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,197 | Lockhart TX | 18,159 | $68K | 13.0% | 2.3% | 17% | B |
| 1,198 | Fruitport Township MI | 15,666 | $85K | 11.4% | 4.2% | 7% | B |
| 1,199 | Lemay MO | 16,228 | $60K | 14.7% | 2.5% | 4% | B |
| 1,200 | Muscle Shoals AL | 17,666 | $76K | 12.8% | 2.3% | 24% | B |
| 1,201 | East Bay Township MI | 11,780 | $85K | 6.5% | 4.4% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Lemay, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
26% of Lemay works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to St. Louis (23%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lemay workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemay | – | B | A− | 24 min | $60,399 |
| St. Louis | 23% | C+ | A+ | 22 min | $56,160 |
| Mehlville | 3% | A− | B | 23 min | $67,071 |
| Affton | under 2% | A | B+ | 24 min | $79,539 |
| St. George | under 2% | B+ | C− | 26 min | $68,091 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lemay’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 Lemay: questions
What is the median household income in Lemay?
$60,399 (±$4,792) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lemay?
14.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lemay?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lemay work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (23%, 7 mi), Maryland Heights (4%, 16 mi), Chesterfield (3%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lemay walkable?
Lemay is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lemay without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 21% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lemay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lemay
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.