Work & commute · Rolla

Work & commute in Rolla, MO

About one in 3 of Rolla’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Columbia (4%), St. James (4%) and Jefferson City (3%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

39%

2,815 of 7,201 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 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 4,386 Rolla residents head out of town to work, 2,815 work right here, and 8,936 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rolla.

4,386live here, work elsewhere

2,815live and work here

8,936work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rolla goes to work

Rolla (in town)right here

39%2,815

Columbia75.6 mi away

4%319

St. James8.9 mi away

4%277

Jefferson City48.4 mi away

3%218

Springfield98.6 mi away

1%103

St. Louis95 mi away

1%91

St. Robert23 mi away

1%72

Chesterfield80.8 mi away

1%67

Cuba21.1 mi away

1%66

Waynesville26.6 mi away

1%62

Everywhere elseother towns and states

43%3,111

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

How far

How far Rolla commutes

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

51%

35%

51%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rolla is a job hub

1.63jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Rolla are

11,751 jobs are based in Rolla. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rolla’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rolla

11,751 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Rolla residents hold

7,201 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month43%

+1%

Jobs based in Rolla, 2013 → 2023: 11,660 → 11,751. 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.