Work & commute · Lancaster

Work & commute in Lancaster, MO

Most working residents leave Lancaster for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Kirksville (19%), Queen City (5%) and Centerville (4%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

21 of 261 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 240 Lancaster residents head out of town to work, 21 work right here, and 108 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lancaster.

240live here, work elsewhere

21live and work here

108work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lancaster goes to work

Kirksville22.8 mi away

19%49

Lancaster (in town)right here

8%21

Queen City8.1 mi away

5%13

Centerville, IA22.7 mi away

4%11

Greentop12.3 mi away

4%11

Bloomfield, IA16.5 mi away

3%9

Memphis19.5 mi away

3%8

Jefferson City136.7 mi away

3%8

Columbia109.6 mi away

3%8

Ottumwa, IA34.7 mi away

3%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%116

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

How far

How far Lancaster commutes

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

21%

38%

32%

21%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

32%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lancaster is a commuter town

0.49jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Lancaster are

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

Jobs based in Lancaster

129 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month32%

Jobs Lancaster residents hold

261 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−34%

Jobs based in Lancaster, 2013 → 2023: 194 → 129. 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.