Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Households in Waynesville earn less than those in 79% of U.S. towns
16.5% of residents are in poverty; Missouri has 12.6%. Jobs and income earn Waynesville C−; getting around on foot earns it C+. About one in seven stay in Waynesville for work; outside it, Fort Leonard Wood is the main destination (15%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Waynesville: the gist
Waynesville is where the jobs are
Waynesville has 2,377 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Waynesville workers earn over $40,000 a year
40% of Waynesville’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Waynesville is services
88% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 1% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Waynesville are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Missouri. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Missouri worker. Time on the road ↓
A young workforce
30% of Waynesville’s working residents are 29 or younger. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Waynesville’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Waynesville is better than 16% of U.S. towns, #196 of 247 in Missouri. Unemployment holds Waynesville’s grade up (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 21% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Waynesville could be anywhere from D− to B+.
Waynesville on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,296 residents head out to work, 258 work right here, and 2,119 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,400 people are in Waynesville on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Waynesville
2,377 jobs are based in Waynesville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waynesville, 2013 → 2023: 2,868 → 2,377. 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 Waynesville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Missouri
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waynesville workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,379 commuters (the 7% 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.
The daily trip into Waynesville
Where Waynesville clocks in
11% of workers
5% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Waynesville
About 33% 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.
Driving is how Waynesville gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Waynesville is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns, #187 of 247 in Missouri. Both inputs place Waynesville near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,558 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). 3.7% of Waynesville households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Waynesville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Waynesville is 3,041st of 3,502 U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,500 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,039 | Marathon Township MI | 4,444 | $66K | 11.3% | 12.2% | 3% | C− |
| 3,040 | Charlestown NH | 4,924 | $47K | 14.8% | 5.1% | 19% | C− |
| 3,041 | Waynesville MO | 5,558 | $57K | 16.5% | 5.1% | 17% | C− |
| 3,042 | Colesville NY | 4,730 | $61K | 17.3% | 6.5% | 6% | C− |
| 3,043 | West Clarkston-Highland WA | 5,444 | $52K | 18.1% | 4.2% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Waynesville, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Waynesville and its neighbors: 11% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Waynesville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waynesville | – | C− | C+ | 19 min | $56,836 |
| St. Robert | 11% | C− | C+ | 19 min | $62,641 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to St. Robert. Darker towns draw more of Waynesville’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 Waynesville: questions
What is the median household income in Waynesville?
$56,836 (±$34,180) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waynesville?
16.5%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waynesville?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waynesville work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Leonard Wood (15%, 7 mi), St. Robert (11%, 4 mi), Springfield (5%, 73 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waynesville walkable?
Waynesville is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waynesville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waynesville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waynesville
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.