Photo: MoBikeFed · CC BY 2.0Household incomes in Wildwood are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Wildwood is better than 98% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (B−). Below the poverty line: 2.2% of residents, against 12.6% across Missouri. Home is the office for 25% of workers, against 13% across Missouri.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Wildwood stands out on work
Home offices are common in Wildwood
25% of Wildwood workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Time on the road ↓
Wildwood’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Wildwood is St. Louis, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (1,922) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Wildwood draws workers from far and wide
The 5,021 jobs in Wildwood are filled from a wide area. Wildwood’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Wildwood empties out on a workday
About 24,000 people are in Wildwood on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than the 35,000 who live here: 15,000 head out to work and 4,300 come in. Day and night ↓
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.
What’s behind Wildwood’s Jobs & income grade
Household income is its strongest input ($161,060, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wildwood stays A+.
From Wildwood, about 27 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wildwood workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,377 commuters (the 25% 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.
Wildwood’s commute, mile by mile
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.
12% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Wildwood clocks in
12% of workers
12% of workers
6% 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.
Wildwood on a workday afternoon
On a workday 15,342 residents head out to work, 712 work right here, and 4,309 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in Wildwood on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
0.31 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
The kinds of work in Wildwood
5,021 jobs are based in Wildwood.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wildwood, 2013 → 2023: 6,487 → 5,021. 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 Wildwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Wildwood start in a car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 17,759 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 13% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% 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). 1.4% of Wildwood households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Wildwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 24,000 to 47,000, Wildwood ranks 19th of 1,287 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Severna Park MD | 40,228 | $170K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| 18 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| 19 | Wildwood MO | 34,955 | $161K | 2.2% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| 20 | Westfield NJ | 32,595 | $233K | 1.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A+ |
| 21 | St. John IN | 24,841 | $131K | 2.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Ballwin MO | 30,901 | $125K | 4.8% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Kirkwood MO | 29,331 | $121K | 5.3% | 3.1% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | Maryland Heights MO | 27,559 | $86K | 4.7% | 2.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,287 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Wildwood, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Wildwood and its neighbors: 15% work next door
The biggest share goes to Chesterfield (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wildwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood | – | A+ | B− | 27 min | $161,060 |
| Ellisville | 3% | A− | B | 28 min | $113,309 |
| Eureka | under 3% | A− | C | 27 min | $108,394 |
| Chesterfield | 12% | A+ | B | 22 min | $133,037 |
| Clarkson Valley | under 3% | A+ | C | 22 min | $247,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wildwood’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 Wildwood: questions
What is the median household income in Wildwood?
$161,060 (±$10,613) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wildwood?
2.2%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wildwood?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wildwood work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (12%, 23 mi), Chesterfield (12%, 7 mi), Creve Coeur (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wildwood walkable?
Wildwood is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wildwood without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wildwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wildwood
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.