Households in Northwoods earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 10.8 in St. Louis. 24.8% of residents live below the poverty line (Missouri 12.6%). For jobs and income Northwoods is better than 51% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Northwoods, in brief
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Northwoods’ working residents have a job less than 7 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 33 minutes, longer than the Missouri average of 24. Time on the road ↓
Northwoods and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Northwoods residents (26%) and also where the most people who work in Northwoods come from (19% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Northwoods residents work close to home
69% 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 ↓
Many jobs in Northwoods pay little
33% of the jobs based in Northwoods pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Fewer than half of Northwoods workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Northwoods’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 17% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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.
Northwoods’ Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Job access by car holds Northwoods’ grade up; household income pulls it down ($45,330, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Northwoods could be anywhere from C to B+.
A commute of about 33 minutes in Northwoods
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northwoods workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,374 commuters (the 9% 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.
26% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Northwoods clocks in
26% 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.
Half of Northwoods commutes less than 7 miles
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 Northwoods, services account for most jobs
462 jobs are based in Northwoods.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northwoods, 2013 → 2023: 597 → 462. 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 Northwoods’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Northwoods
On a workday 1,320 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 439 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Northwoods on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.34 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Northwoods
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,511 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, 20% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 15.1% of Northwoods households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Northwoods’ commuters take a bus or train.
2,168th of 4,355: where Northwoods ranks among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | Clarkson Valley MO | 2,540 | $247K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 183 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,166 | Fayette Township IN | 2,735 | $87K | 6.9% | 5.8% | 2% | B− |
| 2,167 | Wheatfield Township PA | 3,250 | $94K | 10.4% | 5.5% | 2% | B− |
| 2,168 | Northwoods MO | 3,579 | $45K | 24.8% | 1.4% | 2% | B− |
| 2,169 | Kennedy CA | 2,576 | $70K | 12.0% | 4.9% | 1% | B− |
| 2,170 | Unalaska AK | 4,306 | $132K | 9.6% | 4.3% | — | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Northwoods, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Northwoods and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northwoods workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwoods | – | B− | A | 33 min | $45,330 |
| Jennings | under 3% | C− | A+ | 27 min | $38,984 |
| Pine Lawn | under 3% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $24,837 |
| Beverly Hills | under 3% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Norwood Court | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Pasadena Hills | under 3% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Beverly Hills and Norwood Court: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Pasadena Hills: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Northwoods’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 Northwoods: questions
What is the median household income in Northwoods?
$45,330 (±$7,049) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northwoods?
24.8%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northwoods?
33 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northwoods work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (26%, 5 mi), Maryland Heights (5%, 10 mi), Bridgeton (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northwoods walkable?
Northwoods is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northwoods without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 20% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northwoods, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northwoods
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.