Photo: Paul Sableman · CC BY 2.0Households in Webster Groves earn more than those in 86% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 10.8 in St. Louis. 4.2% of residents are in poverty, against 12.6% across Missouri. Webster Groves grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Webster Groves
Webster Groves trades workers with the towns around it
Webster Groves has about as many jobs (10,008) as working residents (10,415), but they are mostly different people: 9,656 residents leave for work each day while 9,249 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Webster Groves are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Webster Groves residents work close to home
73% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Webster Groves
26% of Webster Groves workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Time on the road ↓
Webster Groves and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Webster Groves residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Webster Groves come from (16% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Webster Groves draws workers from far and wide
The 10,008 jobs in Webster Groves are filled from a wide area. Webster Groves’ own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 62% 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.
The figures behind Webster Groves’ Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Webster Groves is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #22 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Webster Groves could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Webster Groves by day and by night
On a workday 9,656 residents head out to work, 759 work right here, and 9,249 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 (0.96 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Webster Groves
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.
Getting to work from Webster Groves takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Webster Groves workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,849 commuters (the 26% 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.
23% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Webster Groves clocks in
23% of workers
6% 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.
Most jobs in Webster Groves are in services
10,008 jobs are based in Webster Groves.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Webster Groves, 2013 → 2023: 10,495 → 10,008. 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 Webster Groves’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Good to walk, short on transit: Webster Groves
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 11,944 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 78% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 64% 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). 8.2% of Webster Groves households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Webster Groves’ commuters take a bus or train.
Webster Groves is 190th of 1,780 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 32,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Creve Coeur MO | 18,480 | $127K | 6.1% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 154 | Ballwin MO | 30,901 | $125K | 4.8% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 167 | Kirkwood MO | 29,331 | $121K | 5.3% | 3.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 188 | La Cañada Flintridge CA | 19,480 | $242K | 3.5% | 5.0% | 6% | A |
| 189 | Brookfield IL | 18,879 | $110K | 5.4% | 3.3% | 4% | A |
| 190 | Webster Groves MO | 23,450 | $115K | 4.2% | 3.7% | 7% | A |
| 191 | Wilton CT | 19,435 | $242K | 2.4% | 4.4% | 13% | A |
| 192 | Cuba Township IL | 17,247 | $154K | 4.7% | 3.8% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,780 | 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 Webster Groves, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns around Webster Groves
The biggest share goes to Brentwood (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Webster Groves workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webster Groves | – | A | A | 19 min | $115,227 |
| Brentwood | 2% | A | A | 19 min | $99,719 |
| Maplewood | under 2% | A− | A+ | 18 min | $65,125 |
| Shrewsbury | under 2% | B+ | A | 20 min | $80,757 |
| Rock Hill | under 2% | A | B+ | 20 min | $95,372 |
| Crestwood | under 2% | A+ | B | 20 min | $107,169 |
| Glendale | under 2% | A+ | A− | 19 min | $170,700 |
| Marlborough | under 2% | A− | A | 24 min | $50,300 |
| Oakland | under 2% | A+ | B+ | 20 min | $114,861 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Webster Groves’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 Webster Groves: questions
What is the median household income in Webster Groves?
$115,227 (±$6,638) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Webster Groves?
4.2%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Webster Groves?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Webster Groves work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (23%, 7 mi), Clayton (6%, 4 mi), Creve Coeur (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Webster Groves walkable?
Webster Groves is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Webster Groves without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Webster Groves, from the people who make the trip.
More of Webster Groves
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.