Work & commute · Ferguson

Work & commute in Ferguson, MO

Most working residents leave Ferguson for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are St. Louis (21%), Maryland Heights (6%) and Florissant (3%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

229 of 8,048 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 7,819 Ferguson residents head out of town to work, 229 work right here, and 4,430 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ferguson.

7,819live here, work elsewhere

229live and work here

4,430work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ferguson goes to work

St. Louis8.3 mi away

21%1,688

Maryland Heights9.7 mi away

6%505

Florissant3.9 mi away

3%275

Creve Coeur9.9 mi away

3%272

Hazelwood6.3 mi away

3%260

St. Charles12.3 mi away

3%250

Bridgeton6.7 mi away

3%244

Ferguson (in town)right here

3%229

Berkeley2.2 mi away

3%221

Clayton7.4 mi away

3%218

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%3,886

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

How far

How far Ferguson commutes

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

63%

29%

63%Under 10 mi

29%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ferguson is a commuter town

0.58jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Ferguson are

4,659 jobs are based in Ferguson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ferguson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ferguson

4,659 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities38%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month40%

Jobs Ferguson residents hold

8,048 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month46%

−10%

Jobs based in Ferguson, 2013 → 2023: 5,198 → 4,659. 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.