Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Few U.S. towns have household incomes as low as Senath’s
Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. The poverty rate is 24.2%, against 12.6% across Missouri. Senath grades D− for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Senath, in brief
Senath workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Senath workers work from home
Only 2% 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 575 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Senath’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, Senath is better than 2% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Senath’s grade.
Unemployment (2.5%) is left out: Senath’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, Senath could be anywhere from D− to D.
The trip to work from Senath: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Senath workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 485 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.
Senath by day and by night
On a workday 518 residents head out to work, 57 work right here, and 328 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Senath on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
12% of working residents work in Kennett
Where Senath clocks in
12% of workers
8% of workers
6% 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 385 jobs based in Senath
385 jobs are based in Senath.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Senath, 2013 → 2023: 446 → 385. 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 Senath’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Senath’s commute, mile by mile
About 29% 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.
Driving is how Senath gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Senath is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% 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 497 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). 22.4% of Senath households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Senath’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Senath sits among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | LaBarque Creek MO | 1,457 | $133K | 1.1% | 1.7% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,220 | Charleston MS | 1,688 | $37K | 27.1% | 12.7% | 24% | D− |
| 5,221 | Port Gibson MS | 1,155 | $43K | 39.0% | 15.6% | 23% | D− |
| 5,222 | Senath MO | 1,504 | $32K | 24.2% | 2.5% | 10% | D− |
| 5,223 | Hooker OK | 1,706 | $49K | 28.4% | 6.3% | 19% | D− |
| 5,224 | Erin TN | 1,207 | $36K | 21.9% | 6.9% | 15% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,397 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Senath, 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 Senath: questions
What is the median household income in Senath?
$31,667 (±$12,049) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Senath?
24.2%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Senath?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Senath work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kennett (12%, 10 mi), Blytheville (8%, 20 mi), Paragould (6%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Senath walkable?
Senath is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Senath without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 22% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Senath, from the people who make the trip.
More of Senath
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.