Photo: Rowen Hansen · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Sugar Creek earn less than those in 70% of U.S. towns
14.6% of residents are in poverty; Missouri has 12.6%. The two grades for Sugar Creek are B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, where Missouri as a whole has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Sugar Creek, in a few figures
Much of Sugar Creek works one town over
47% of working residents work in a town that borders Sugar Creek: Kansas City (33%) and Independence (14%). Next door ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
52% of the jobs in Sugar Creek are in trade, transport and utilities, against 26% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Sugar Creek pay better than its residents’ jobs
73% of the jobs based in Sugar Creek pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 54% of the jobs Sugar Creek residents hold. 96% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Sugar Creek. The jobs ↓
Sugar Creek has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Sugar Creek went from 749 in 2013 to 1,021 in 2023, +36%. The jobs ↓
Few Sugar Creek workers work from home
Only 4% 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Sugar Creek
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sugar Creek is better than 46% of U.S. towns, #111 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds Sugar Creek’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sugar Creek could be anywhere from C− to A.
73% of the jobs in Sugar Creek pay over $3,333 a month
1,021 jobs are based in Sugar Creek.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sugar Creek, 2013 → 2023: 749 → 1,021. 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 Sugar Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Sugar Creek: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sugar Creek workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,420 commuters (the 4% 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 and out of Sugar Creek on a workday
On a workday 1,511 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 977 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Sugar Creek on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.66 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.
33% of working residents work in Kansas City
Where Sugar Creek clocks in
33% of workers
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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Sugar Creek
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.
For most of Sugar Creek, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sugar Creek is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #143 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 1,479 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 68% 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 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 44% 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). 6.7% of Sugar Creek households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sugar Creek’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Sugar Creek is 2,450th of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Clarkson Valley MO | 2,540 | $247K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,448 | Deerfield Township OH | 2,885 | $59K | 18.2% | 2.1% | 2% | B− |
| 2,449 | Fairview NC | 2,298 | $92K | 25.2% | 5.7% | 2% | B− |
| 2,450 | Sugar Creek MO | 3,209 | $62K | 14.6% | 4.8% | 3% | B− |
| 2,451 | Hazen ND | 2,314 | $80K | 10.3% | 2.4% | 32% | B− |
| 2,452 | Hicksville OH | 3,427 | $63K | 4.3% | 6.4% | 29% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Sugar Creek, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
47% of Sugar Creek works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Kansas City (33%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sugar Creek workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Creek | – | B− | B | 24 min | $62,165 |
| Independence | 14% | C+ | B+ | 24 min | $60,339 |
| Kansas City | 33% | B− | A | 22 min | $69,166 |
| River Bend | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. River Bend: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sugar Creek’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 Sugar Creek: questions
What is the median household income in Sugar Creek?
$62,165 (±$11,636) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sugar Creek?
14.6%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sugar Creek?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sugar Creek work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (33%, 8 mi), Independence (14%, 5 mi), Lee's Summit (7%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sugar Creek walkable?
Sugar Creek is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 10.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sugar Creek without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sugar Creek, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sugar Creek
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.