For more than half of its working residents, Willard is a commute to Springfield
Household incomes here are higher than in 62% of U.S. towns. For jobs and income Willard is better than 70% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (C). Working residents average 23 minutes each way, about the same as across Missouri.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Willard and work: the main findings
Why Willard gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment is its strongest input (2.3%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (9.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Willard could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Where the trip to work from Willard ends
Where Willard clocks in
58% of workers
2% of workers
1% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Willard
On a workday 2,112 residents head out to work, 171 work right here, and 899 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,700 people are in Willard on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.47 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.
What the 1,070 jobs in Willard are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Willard, 2013 → 2023: 1,198 → 1,070. 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 Willard’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way for Willard’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Willard workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,667 commuters (the 15% 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.
Half of Willard commutes less than 12 miles
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 Willard gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.2% 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 3,127 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). 1.4% of Willard households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Willard’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,140th of 3,229: where Willard ranks among U.S. towns of 4,800 to 9,300
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,138 | Three Oaks FL | 6,144 | $107K | 8.6% | 4.6% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,139 | Chesterland OH | 7,086 | $108K | 9.8% | 4.8% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,140 | Willard MO | 6,904 | $85K | 9.7% | 2.3% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,141 | New Hempstead NY | 5,657 | $126K | 12.2% | 5.5% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,142 | Decatur TX | 9,029 | $73K | 8.0% | 2.5% | 21% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Willard, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
58% of Willard works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Willard workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willard | – | B+ | C | 23 min | $84,600 |
| Springfield | 58% | C | A− | 18 min | $49,311 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Springfield. Darker towns draw more of Willard’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 Willard: questions
What is the median household income in Willard?
$84,600 (±$10,806) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Willard?
9.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Willard?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Willard work?
7% work in town.
Is Willard walkable?
Willard is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Willard without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Willard, from the people who make the trip.
More of Willard
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.