Work & commute · Center

Work & commute in Center, MO

About one in 3 of Center’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Nevada (42%), Springfield (5%) and Fort Scott (4%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

39%

1,469 of 3,796 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,327 Center residents head out of town to work, 1,469 work right here, and 3,274 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Center.

2,327live here, work elsewhere

1,469live and work here

3,274work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Center goes to work

Nevada2.6 mi away

42%1,591

Springfield71.6 mi away

5%203

Fort Scott, KS19.6 mi away

4%140

Kansas City91.7 mi away

4%140

Joplin51.3 mi away

3%126

El Dorado Springs18.3 mi away

3%111

Center (in town)right here

2%59

Lamar22 mi away

1%45

Butler31.2 mi away

1%39

Jefferson City129.1 mi away

1%37

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%1,305

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

How far

How far Center commutes

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

46%

11%

38%

46%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

38%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Center is balanced between jobs and homes

1.25jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Center are

4,743 jobs are based in Center. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Center’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Center

4,743 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Center residents hold

3,796 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month46%

−12%

Jobs based in Center, 2013 → 2023: 5,420 → 4,743. 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.