Coral Court Motel · Photo: Lori · CC BY-SA 2.0Unemployment in Marlborough (0.7%) is lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Marlborough grades A− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Measured by household income, Marlborough is behind 87% of U.S. towns. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 10.8 in St. Louis.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Marlborough, in brief
Most Marlborough residents work close to home
68% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Marlborough and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Marlborough residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Marlborough come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Marlborough has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Marlborough went from 626 in 2013 to 863 in 2023, +38%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Where Marlborough’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Marlborough is better than 82% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Marlborough’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($50,300, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Marlborough could be anywhere from B+ to A.
The commute from Marlborough, 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.
23% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Marlborough clocks in
23% of workers
5% 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.
The 863 jobs based in Marlborough
863 jobs are based in Marlborough.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Marlborough, 2013 → 2023: 626 → 863. 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 Marlborough’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Marlborough: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,073 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 851 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Marlborough on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.80 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.
Commuting from Marlborough: about 24 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Marlborough workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,494 commuters (the 10% 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.
Marlborough is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Marlborough is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Marlborough 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 1,651 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.0 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). 7.2% of Marlborough households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Marlborough’s commuters take a bus or train.
Marlborough is 651st of 5,404 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Weatherby Lake MO | 2,139 | $153K | 3.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 51 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 649 | Elgin SC | 2,360 | $78K | 2.9% | 1.0% | <1% | A− |
| 650 | Gladeville TN | 2,199 | $97K | 1.7% | 5.4% | <1% | A− |
| 651 | Marlborough MO | 2,185 | $50K | 4.6% | 0.7% | 1% | A− |
| 652 | Lorena TX | 1,817 | $88K | 4.6% | 1.8% | 6% | A− |
| 653 | Spencer Township IN | 1,823 | $96K | 4.4% | 2.2% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Marlborough, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Marlborough and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Affton (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Marlborough workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | – | A− | A | 24 min | $50,300 |
| Affton | 2% | A | B+ | 24 min | $79,539 |
| Shrewsbury | under 2% | B+ | A | 20 min | $80,757 |
| Webster Groves | under 2% | A | A | 19 min | $115,227 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Marlborough’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 Marlborough: questions
What is the median household income in Marlborough?
$50,300 (±$14,258) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Marlborough?
4.6%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Marlborough?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Marlborough work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (23%, 7 mi), Creve Coeur (5%, 9 mi), Clayton (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Marlborough walkable?
Marlborough is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.3 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Marlborough without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Marlborough, from the people who make the trip.
More of Marlborough
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.