Work & commute · Joplin

Work & commute in Joplin, MO

50% of Joplin’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Springfield (5%), Carthage (4%) and Webb City (4%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

50%

10,610 of 21,085 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 10,475 Joplin residents head out of town to work, 10,610 work right here, and 29,084 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Joplin.

10,475live here, work elsewhere

10,610live and work here

29,084work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Joplin goes to work

Joplin (in town)right here

50%10,610

Springfield67.1 mi away

5%1,023

Carthage11 mi away

4%932

Webb City4.9 mi away

4%867

Neosho17.3 mi away

2%432

Duquesne2.5 mi away

2%321

Kansas City141.7 mi away

1%245

Galena, KS7.4 mi away

1%191

Pittsburg, KS25.8 mi away

1%157

Carl Junction6.6 mi away

1%141

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%6,166

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

How far

How far Joplin commutes

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

66%

11%

19%

66%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Joplin is a job hub

1.88jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Joplin are

39,694 jobs are based in Joplin. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Joplin’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Joplin

39,694 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Joplin residents hold

21,085 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month47%

−2%

Jobs based in Joplin, 2013 → 2023: 40,461 → 39,694. 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.