Work & commute · Meta

Work & commute in Meta, MO

Most working residents leave Meta for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Jefferson City (41%), Westphalia (6%) and Linn (6%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

0 of 88 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 88 Meta residents head out of town to work, 0 work right here, and 314 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Meta.

88live here, work elsewhere

0live and work here

314work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Meta goes to work

Jefferson City17.6 mi away

41%36

Westphalia12.7 mi away

6%5

Linn20.8 mi away

6%5

Vienna14.5 mi away

2%2

Columbia44.7 mi away

2%2

Waterloo, IL109.1 mi away

1%1

Argyle7.7 mi away

1%1

Greenville124.5 mi away

1%1

Freeburg13.2 mi away

1%1

St. Martins21.8 mi away

1%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%33

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

How far

How far Meta commutes

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

73%

11%

13%

3%Under 10 mi

73%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Meta is a job hub

3.57jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Meta are

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

Jobs based in Meta

314 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)87%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)7%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month12%

Over $3,333 a month81%

Jobs Meta residents hold

88 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+481%

Jobs based in Meta, 2013 → 2023: 54 → 314. 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.