Work & commute · Polk

Work & commute in Polk, MO

47% of Polk’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Maryville (45%), St. Joseph (10%) and Kansas City (5%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

47%

2,725 of 5,744 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

12 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 3,019 Polk residents head out of town to work, 2,725 work right here, and 3,878 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Polk.

3,019live here, work elsewhere

2,725live and work here

3,878work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Polk goes to work

Maryville0.9 mi away

45%2,569

St. Joseph41.2 mi away

10%575

Kansas City86.5 mi away

5%291

Polk (in town)right here

3%156

Chillicothe79.7 mi away

1%86

Independence91.8 mi away

1%64

Liberty80.4 mi away

1%53

Columbia166.4 mi away

1%50

Lenexa, KS96 mi away

1%42

Kansas City, KS85.3 mi away

1%41

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%1,817

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

How far

How far Polk commutes

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

49%

15%

32%

49%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

32%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Polk is balanced between jobs and homes

1.15jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.15 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Polk are

6,603 jobs are based in Polk. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Polk’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Polk

6,603 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Polk residents hold

5,744 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+1%

Jobs based in Polk, 2013 → 2023: 6,555 → 6,603. 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.