Making a living in Polo
Only 6% work in Polo itself; outside it, Kansas City draws the most (14%, 40 miles). For 1% of workers, the job is at home; Missouri has 13%. A typical one-way commute lasts 35 minutes (Missouri 24, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Polo: the figures worth knowing
Polo’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Polo is Kansas City, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (29) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Polo workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Polo workers work from home
Only 1% 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 204 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Miles to work from Polo
About 21% 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.
Time on the road from Polo: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Polo workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 223 commuters (the 1% 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.
How a workday changes Polo
On a workday 191 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 162 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 (0.86 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.
Where people from Polo work
Where Polo clocks in
14% 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.
Inside Polo’s 175 jobs
175 jobs are based in Polo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Polo, 2013 → 2023: 178 → 175. 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 Polo’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 Polo: questions
What is the median household income in Polo?
$53,523 (±$6,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Polo?
12.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Polo?
35 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Polo work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (14%, 40 mi), Cameron (5%, 17 mi), Liberty (4%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Polo 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 Polo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Polo
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.