Household incomes in Lincoln trail those of 69% of U.S. towns
For 2% of workers, the job is at home, against 13% across Missouri. Below the poverty line: 12.8% of residents, next to 12.6% across Missouri. The two grades for Lincoln are C− 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
What the numbers say about work in Lincoln
Lincoln’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lincoln is Sedalia, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (61) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Lincoln workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
34% 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 ↓
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 461 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Lincoln
On income, poverty and job access, Lincoln is better than 18% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Lincoln’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (1.8%) is left out: Lincoln’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, Lincoln could be anywhere from D to C+.
Near or far: the trip to work from Lincoln
About 34% 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.
The daily trip from Lincoln: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lincoln workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 590 commuters (the 2% 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.
Who leaves Lincoln for work, and who comes in
On a workday 406 residents head out to work, 55 work right here, and 317 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 (0.81 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.
13% of working residents work in Sedalia
Where Lincoln clocks in
13% of workers
6% 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.
In Lincoln, services account for most jobs
372 jobs are based in Lincoln.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lincoln, 2013 → 2023: 485 → 372. 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 Lincoln’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Lincoln start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lincoln is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 605 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). 2.3% of Lincoln households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lincoln’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600, Lincoln ranks 3,047th of 4,312 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Loch Lloyd MO | 1,090 | $184K | 2.5% | 0.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | LaBarque Creek MO | 1,457 | $133K | 1.1% | 1.7% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Fremont Hills MO | 1,098 | $171K | 3.9% | 1.9% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,045 | Knox Township OH | 1,178 | $66K | 17.4% | 0.0% | <1% | C− |
| 3,046 | Belcourt ND | 1,547 | $91K | 27.7% | 0.0% | 48% | C− |
| 3,047 | Lincoln MO | 1,197 | $63K | 12.8% | 1.8% | 12% | C− |
| 3,048 | Somerset OH | 1,482 | $55K | 17.6% | 5.2% | 4% | C− |
| 3,049 | Clinton Township IN | 1,292 | $48K | 8.8% | 7.4% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | 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 Lincoln, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
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 Lincoln: questions
What is the median household income in Lincoln?
$63,200 (±$11,429) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lincoln?
12.8%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lincoln?
34 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lincoln work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sedalia (13%, 22 mi), Clinton (6%, 24 mi), Springfield (5%, 83 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lincoln walkable?
Lincoln is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lincoln without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lincoln, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lincoln
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.