Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0With 0.6 jobs for every working resident, most of St. John works elsewhere
Household incomes here are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns. 1,562 jobs are based in St. John for 2,797 working residents. Jobs and income earn St. John C+; getting around on foot earns it B+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
St. John at work: what stands out
Most St. John 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 ↓
St. John has added jobs fast
Jobs based in St. John went from 1,158 in 2013 to 1,562 in 2023, +35%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind St. John’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, St. John is better than 36% of U.S. towns, #133 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds St. John’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($53,755, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, St. John could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Near or far: the trip to work from St. John
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.
The kinds of work in St. John
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. John, 2013 → 2023: 1,158 → 1,562. 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 St. John’s own residents hold wherever they work.
St. John by day and by night
On a workday 2,762 residents head out to work, 35 work right here, and 1,527 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in St. John on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer 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.
14% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where St. John clocks in
14% 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.
About 23 minutes each way, about the MO average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. John workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,740 commuters (the 12% 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.
In St. John, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, St. John is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #98 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 3,103 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 2.2% of St. John households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of St. John’s commuters take a bus or train.
How St. John ranks: 2,284th of 3,306 U.S. towns of 4,500 to 8,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Cottleville MO | 6,717 | $131K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Greenwood MO | 6,315 | $107K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,282 | Manchester IA | 5,357 | $61K | 11.4% | 3.5% | 37% | C+ |
| 2,283 | New Albany MS | 7,756 | $51K | 14.8% | 2.5% | 33% | C+ |
| 2,284 | St. John MO | 6,441 | $54K | 15.4% | 6.3% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,285 | Cortez FL | 5,205 | $80K | 10.5% | 11.0% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,286 | Dardanelle AR | 4,521 | $51K | 11.1% | 3.5% | 17% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,306 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of St. John, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns around St. John
The biggest share goes to Berkeley (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. John workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John | – | C+ | B+ | 23 min | $53,755 |
| Bel-Ridge | under 3% | C− | A+ | 27 min | $38,049 |
| Woodson Terrace | under 3% | C+ | B | 20 min | $47,417 |
| Berkeley | 3% | C | A | 21 min | $44,265 |
| Overland | 2% | B− | B+ | 20 min | $61,773 |
| Breckenridge Hills | under 3% | C− | A | 30 min | $40,958 |
| Charlack | under 3% | C+ | A− | 23 min | $54,792 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of St. John’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 St. John: questions
What is the median household income in St. John?
$53,755 (±$6,617) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. John?
15.4%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. John?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. John work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (14%, 8 mi), Maryland Heights (8%, 7 mi), Bridgeton (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is St. John walkable?
St. John is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. John without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. John, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. John
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.