South Fork draws 120 commuters a day, with 2.0 jobs for every working resident
0% of workers have no commute at all; Missouri has 13%. South Fork has 121 jobs for 62 working residents. Only 2% stay in South Fork for work; outside it, West Plains is the main destination (35%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How many people are in South Fork by day
On a workday 61 residents head out to work and 1 work right here.
About 130 people are in South Fork on a workday afternoon, 88% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in South Fork, and from where
Where South Fork clocks in
35% of workers
13% 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.
Goods, not services: 67% of the jobs in South Fork
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Fork, 2013 → 2023: 85 → 121. 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 South Fork’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in South Fork
of South Fork workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 24 commuters (the 0% 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 far it is to work from South Fork
About 41% 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.
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 South Fork: questions
What is the median household income in South Fork?
$65,417 (±$16,594) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Fork?
0.0%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in South Fork work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are West Plains (35%, 8 mi), Springfield (13%, 83 mi), Poplar Bluff (3%, 86 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around South Fork without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Fork, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Fork
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.