Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Jobs, income and commuting in Shrewsbury, MO
Jobs & income B+: better than 74% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #64 of 247 in Missouri.
Walkability A: more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns · #10 of 247 in Missouri.
Household incomes here are higher than in 57% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 20 minutes each way (Missouri 24, U.S. 26). Only 2% work in Shrewsbury; the top destination outside it is St. Louis (25%, 6 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 9.3 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 10.8 in St. Louis (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury trades workers with the towns around it
Shrewsbury has about as many jobs (3,198) as working residents (2,897), but they are mostly different people: 2,837 residents leave for work each day while 3,138 people come in. Only 2% of the jobs in Shrewsbury are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Shrewsbury residents work close to home
72% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Shrewsbury and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Shrewsbury residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Shrewsbury come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
44% of the jobs in Shrewsbury are in trade, transport and utilities, against 15% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
What’s behind Shrewsbury’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shrewsbury is better than 74% of U.S. towns, #64 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds Shrewsbury’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (10.0%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Shrewsbury could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,837 residents head out to work, 60 work right here, and 3,138 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 (1.10 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.
Half of Shrewsbury commutes less than 7 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
25% of working residents work in St. Louis
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Shrewsbury clocks in
25% of workers
5% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 3,198 jobs in Shrewsbury are
3,198 jobs are based in Shrewsbury. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Shrewsbury’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shrewsbury, 2013 → 2023: 2,639 → 3,198. 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.
About 20 minutes each way, quicker than most of Missouri
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shrewsbury workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,509 commuters (the 16% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Shrewsbury 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, Shrewsbury is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #10 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 6.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 2,998 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, 30% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 9.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 93% 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). 12.3% of Shrewsbury households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Shrewsbury’s commuters take a bus or train.
Shrewsbury is 969th of 3,297 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,400 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Shrewsbury, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Cottleville MO | 6,717 | $131K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Greenwood MO | 6,315 | $107K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 967 | St. Marys OH | 8,398 | $80K | 6.6% | 1.8% | 24% | B+ |
| 968 | Dryden Township MI | 4,809 | $104K | 3.1% | 4.6% | 5% | B+ |
| 969 | Shrewsbury MO | 6,231 | $81K | 10.0% | 3.4% | 2% | B+ |
| 970 | Castle Shannon PA | 8,006 | $64K | 10.5% | 0.4% | 4% | B+ |
| 971 | Hallsville TX | 4,895 | $85K | 5.7% | 2.8% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,297 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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.
Shrewsbury and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Webster Groves (5%). Darker towns draw more of Shrewsbury’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shrewsbury workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shrewsbury | – | B+ | A | 20 min | $80,757 |
| Webster Groves | 5% | A | A | 19 min | $115,227 |
| Maplewood | under 3% | A− | A+ | 18 min | $65,125 |
| Marlborough | under 3% | A− | A | 24 min | $50,300 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Shrewsbury: questions
What is the median household income in Shrewsbury?
$80,757 (±$12,016) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shrewsbury?
10.0%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shrewsbury?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shrewsbury work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (25%, 6 mi), Clayton (5%, 4 mi), Webster Groves (5%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shrewsbury walkable?
Shrewsbury is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shrewsbury without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 30% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shrewsbury, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shrewsbury
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.