Work & commute · South West

Work & commute in South West, MO

Most working residents leave South West for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Pittsburg (12%), Lamar (11%) and Liberal (6%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 226 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 222 South West residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 41 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in South West.

222live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

41work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where South West goes to work

Pittsburg, KS6.9 mi away

12%26

Lamar16.9 mi away

11%25

Liberal9.7 mi away

6%13

Carthage23.7 mi away

4%10

Joplin24.6 mi away

4%10

Central10.7 mi away

4%9

Nevada31.4 mi away

4%8

Springfield72.2 mi away

4%8

Kansas City117.4 mi away

2%5

Nashville7.1 mi away

2%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%107

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

How far

How far South West commutes

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

20%

35%

14%

31%

20%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

South West is a commuter town

0.20jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in South West are

45 jobs are based in South West. Here is what they are, next to the jobs South West’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in South West

45 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities36%

Services (health, schools, offices…)36%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month64%

Over $3,333 a month16%

Jobs South West residents hold

226 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)48%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−32%

Jobs based in South West, 2013 → 2023: 66 → 45. 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.