Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Union
About one in five work in Union itself; outside it, Washington draws the most (12%, 8 miles). Union grades B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Working residents average 24 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Union, in brief
Union trades workers with the towns around it
Union has about as many jobs (6,096) as working residents (5,864), but they are mostly different people: 4,782 residents leave for work each day while 5,014 people come in. Only 18% of the jobs in Union are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Union draws workers from far and wide
The 6,096 jobs in Union are filled from a wide area. Union’s own residents hold 18% and the ten next-biggest home towns 17%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Union
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Union is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #97 of 247 in Missouri. The poverty rate holds Union’s grade up (8.1%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 39% of U.S. towns). It also does well on unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Union could be anywhere from C to A−.
A workday in Union: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 4,782 residents head out to work, 1,082 work right here, and 5,014 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 (1.04 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.
Where people from Union work
Where Union clocks in
12% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
The kinds of work in Union
6,096 jobs are based in Union.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union, 2013 → 2023: 5,921 → 6,096. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way, about the MO average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Union workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,730 commuters (the 9% 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 Union
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 Union, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Union is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #145 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 6,295 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). 5.9% of Union households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Union’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Union is 1,505th among 2,526 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 18,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Town and Country MO | 11,619 | $233K | 1.7% | 2.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Dardenne Prairie MO | 15,032 | $153K | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,503 | Oak Island NC | 9,337 | $86K | 8.7% | 3.0% | 16% | B− |
| 1,504 | Blanchard OK | 10,013 | $91K | 7.9% | 10.1% | 10% | B− |
| 1,505 | Union MO | 13,445 | $73K | 8.1% | 3.7% | 18% | B− |
| 1,506 | Spring Creek NV | 14,739 | $105K | 7.3% | 4.1% | 6% | B− |
| 1,507 | Fruitland Park FL | 9,543 | $83K | 10.4% | 3.8% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,526 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Union, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
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: questions
What is the median household income in Union?
$73,435 (±$7,625) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union?
8.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (12%, 8 mi), St. Louis (5%, 43 mi), Pacific (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Union walkable?
Union is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Union without a car?
1% 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, from the people who make the trip.
More of Union
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.