Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Households in Trenton earn less than those in 88% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 18.1% of residents (Missouri 12.6%). For jobs and income Trenton is better than 15% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (A). Home is the office for 3% of workers (Missouri 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Trenton: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Trenton are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 24 across Missouri. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical Missouri worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
39% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Few Trenton workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Trenton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Trenton fell from 2,994 in 2013 to 2,240 in 2023, −25%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Trenton
Unemployment holds Trenton’s grade up (4.1%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($50,015, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Trenton could be anywhere from D− to C+.
About 12 minutes each way for Trenton’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Trenton workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,155 commuters (the 3% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Trenton
About 39% 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.
The 2,240 jobs based in Trenton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Trenton, 2013 → 2023: 2,994 → 2,240. 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 Trenton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Trenton: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,411 residents head out to work, 801 work right here, and 1,439 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 (1.01 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.
8% of working residents work in Chillicothe
Where Trenton clocks in
7% of workers
4% 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.
Trenton is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,230 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). 12.4% of Trenton households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Trenton’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,094th of 3,502: where Trenton ranks among U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,500
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Cottleville MO | 6,717 | $131K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Greenwood MO | 6,315 | $107K | 3.2% | 0.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,092 | Champlain NY | 5,583 | $60K | 14.2% | 5.7% | 28% | D |
| 3,093 | Litchfield IL | 6,598 | $54K | 16.3% | 6.4% | 27% | D |
| 3,094 | Trenton MO | 5,557 | $50K | 18.1% | 4.1% | 36% | D |
| 3,095 | Grayling Township MI | 5,892 | $65K | 11.8% | 7.4% | 14% | D |
| 3,096 | Hawkinsville GA | 4,789 | $40K | 22.3% | 3.1% | 12% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,502 | 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 Trenton, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Trenton and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Trenton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trenton | – | D | A | 12 min | $50,015 |
| Trenton Township | under 2% | — | — | 13 min | — |
| Lincoln Township | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Trenton Township: not graded. Lincoln Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Trenton’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 Trenton: questions
What is the median household income in Trenton?
$50,015 (±$5,187) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Trenton?
18.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Trenton?
12 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Trenton work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chillicothe (8%, 20 mi), Kansas City (7%, 83 mi), St. Joseph (4%, 68 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Trenton walkable?
Trenton is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Trenton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Trenton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Trenton
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.