Work & commute · Poplar Bluff

Work & commute in Poplar Bluff, MO

50% of Poplar Bluff’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Cape Girardeau (3%), Dexter (2%) and Sikeston (2%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

50%

3,052 of 6,117 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 3,065 Poplar Bluff residents head out of town to work, 3,052 work right here, and 10,406 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Poplar Bluff.

3,065live here, work elsewhere

3,052live and work here

10,406work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Poplar Bluff goes to work

Poplar Bluff (in town)right here

50%3,052

Cape Girardeau60.4 mi away

3%191

Dexter25 mi away

2%136

Sikeston46.5 mi away

2%120

Dudley17.9 mi away

2%110

Farmington70.4 mi away

1%87

St. Louis129.7 mi away

1%66

Kennett41.5 mi away

1%57

Jefferson City157.5 mi away

1%47

Doniphan24.6 mi away

1%46

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%2,205

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

How far

How far Poplar Bluff commutes

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

58%

26%

58%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Poplar Bluff is a job hub

2.20jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Poplar Bluff are

13,458 jobs are based in Poplar Bluff. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Poplar Bluff’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Poplar Bluff

13,458 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month45%

Jobs Poplar Bluff residents hold

6,117 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month39%

−0%

Jobs based in Poplar Bluff, 2013 → 2023: 13,491 → 13,458. 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.