Work & commute · Bolivar

Work & commute in Bolivar, MO

About one in 4 of Bolivar’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Springfield (24%), Kansas City (4%) and Lebanon (2%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

28%

1,278 of 4,585 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,307 Bolivar residents head out of town to work, 1,278 work right here, and 5,493 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bolivar.

3,307live here, work elsewhere

1,278live and work here

5,493work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bolivar goes to work

Bolivar (in town)right here

28%1,278

Springfield29 mi away

24%1,082

Kansas City121.8 mi away

4%161

Lebanon41.7 mi away

2%76

Joplin69.9 mi away

1%64

Fair Play9 mi away

1%61

Buffalo17.8 mi away

1%53

Columbia110.1 mi away

1%42

Jefferson City94.8 mi away

1%40

Ozark40.9 mi away

1%38

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%1,690

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Bolivar commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

33%

31%

27%

33%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

31%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bolivar is balanced between jobs and homes

1.48jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bolivar are

6,771 jobs are based in Bolivar. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bolivar’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bolivar

6,771 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Bolivar residents hold

4,585 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+30%

Jobs based in Bolivar, 2013 → 2023: 5,215 → 6,771. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.