Work & commute · Kelso

Work & commute in Kelso, MO

Most working residents leave Kelso for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Cape Girardeau (36%), Scott City (8%) and Sikeston (8%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 213 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 209 Kelso residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 36 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kelso.

209live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

36work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kelso goes to work

Cape Girardeau8.1 mi away

36%76

Scott City2.3 mi away

8%17

Sikeston21.4 mi away

8%17

Jackson14.2 mi away

3%6

Kelso (in town)right here

2%4

Advance20.8 mi away

2%4

Chaffee6.1 mi away

2%4

Miner19.8 mi away

2%4

Benton6.4 mi away

1%3

Poplar Bluff56.1 mi away

1%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%75

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

How far

How far Kelso commutes

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

55%

25%

18%

55%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kelso is a commuter town

0.19jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Kelso are

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

Jobs based in Kelso

40 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)68%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)5%

$1,250 a month or less5%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month78%

Jobs Kelso residents hold

213 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−13%

Jobs based in Kelso, 2013 → 2023: 46 → 40. 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.