Union Star has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
6% of workers have no commute at all; Missouri has 13%. Employers in Union Star report 26 jobs, and 168 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Union Star itself; outside it, St. Joseph draws the most (36%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Union Star, and who commutes in
On a workday 168 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 26 people come in from elsewhere.
About 230 people are in Union Star on a workday afternoon, 38% 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.
Out of Union Star to work: where people go
Where Union Star clocks in
36% of workers
8% 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.
What Union Star’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union Star, 2013 → 2023: 29 → 26. 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 Union Star’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Union Star takes about 82 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 26.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Union Star workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 251 commuters (the 6% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Union Star
About 36% 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 towns around Union Star
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Union Star workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Star | – | — | — | 82 min | $61,299 |
| Polk Township | under 2% | — | — | 67 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Polk Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Union Star’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 Union Star: questions
What is the median household income in Union Star?
$61,299 (±$9,406) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union Star?
4.5%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union Star?
82 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union Star work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Joseph (36%, 19 mi), Kansas City (8%, 59 mi), Stewartsville (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Union Star without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Union Star, from the people who make the trip.
More of Union Star
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.