Work & commute · Columbia

Work & commute in Columbia, MO

69% of Columbia’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Jefferson City (5%), Kansas City (2%) and Springfield (1%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

69%

36,323 of 52,633 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 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 16,310 Columbia residents head out of town to work, 36,323 work right here, and 52,210 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbia.

16,310live here, work elsewhere

36,323live and work here

52,210work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbia goes to work

Columbia (in town)right here

69%36,323

Jefferson City27.5 mi away

5%2,415

Kansas City120 mi away

2%935

Springfield132 mi away

1%496

Fulton21.2 mi away

1%479

St. Louis114.2 mi away

1%414

Moberly33.1 mi away

1%339

Mexico28.5 mi away

0%233

Maryland Heights101.1 mi away

0%215

Ashland10.4 mi away

0%203

Everywhere elseother towns and states

20%10,581

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

How far

How far Columbia commutes

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

72%

17%

72%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbia is a job hub

1.68jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbia are

88,533 jobs are based in Columbia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Columbia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Columbia

88,533 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Columbia residents hold

52,633 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+20%

Jobs based in Columbia, 2013 → 2023: 73,963 → 88,533. 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.