Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, MO

About one in 4 of Salem’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Rolla (9%), Columbia (2%) and St. James (2%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

28%

475 of 1,689 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 1,214 Salem residents head out of town to work, 475 work right here, and 1,760 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

1,214live here, work elsewhere

475live and work here

1,760work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Salem (in town)right here

28%475

Rolla24.5 mi away

9%147

Columbia100 mi away

2%40

St. James25.4 mi away

2%35

Jefferson City73 mi away

2%30

Springfield101.2 mi away

1%24

Farmington61.3 mi away

1%19

Licking20.3 mi away

1%17

Chesterfield87.5 mi away

1%17

Cuba30.4 mi away

1%14

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%871

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

How far

How far Salem commutes

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

40%

12%

15%

33%

40%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is balanced between jobs and homes

1.32jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

2,235 jobs are based in Salem. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salem’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Salem

2,235 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities36%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month39%

Jobs Salem residents hold

1,689 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month39%

+7%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 2,093 → 2,235. 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.