Madison has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 5% work in Madison; the top destination outside it is Moberly (21%, 12 miles). Madison has 87 jobs; 212 of its residents have a job. 3% of workers work from home; Missouri has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Madison, in a few figures
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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 ↓
Madison workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Madison 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; with 212 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Miles to work from Madison
About 31% 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.
From Madison, about 31 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Madison workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 186 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.
In and out of Madison on a workday
On a workday 202 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 77 people come in from elsewhere.
About 410 people are in Madison on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
Where the trip to work from Madison ends
Where Madison clocks in
17% of workers
4% 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.
What Madison’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Madison, 2013 → 2023: 85 → 87. 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 Madison’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Madison: questions
What is the median household income in Madison?
$44,583 (±$11,974) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Madison?
20.6%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Madison?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Madison work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Moberly (21%, 12 mi), Columbia (17%, 37 mi), Paris (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Madison without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Madison, from the people who make the trip.
More of Madison
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.