Work & commute · Polk

Work & commute in Polk, MO

Most working residents leave Polk for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are St. Joseph (37%), Kansas City (8%) and Cameron (4%). Half commute less than 24 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 310 working residents

Typical commute

24 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

67 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 306 Polk residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 91 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Polk.

306live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

91work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Polk goes to work

St. Joseph21.8 mi away

37%115

Kansas City59.4 mi away

8%25

Cameron23 mi away

4%13

Stewartsville15.8 mi away

4%11

Independence62.9 mi away

3%8

Lee's Summit73.9 mi away

3%8

Maryville30.5 mi away

2%5

Liberty51.7 mi away

2%5

Wathena, KS25.9 mi away

1%4

Kansas City, KS60.6 mi away

1%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%112

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%

13%

35%

3%Under 10 mi

49%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Polk is a commuter town

0.31jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Polk are

95 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

95 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)82%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Polk residents hold

310 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month62%

−1%

Jobs based in Polk, 2013 → 2023: 96 → 95. 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.