Work & commute · Sparta

Work & commute in Sparta, MO

Most working residents leave Sparta for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Springfield (45%), Ozark (13%) and Branson (3%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

37 of 825 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

39 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 788 Sparta residents head out of town to work, 37 work right here, and 364 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sparta.

788live here, work elsewhere

37live and work here

364work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sparta goes to work

Springfield17.6 mi away

45%372

Ozark7.7 mi away

13%108

Sparta (in town)right here

4%37

Branson28.5 mi away

3%27

Nixa12 mi away

3%26

Republic21.5 mi away

1%10

Hollister28.5 mi away

1%8

Kansas City167 mi away

1%8

Monett46.8 mi away

1%7

Jefferson City119 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

26%215

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

How far

How far Sparta commutes

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

21%

60%

11%

21%Under 10 mi

60%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

11%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sparta is a commuter town

0.49jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Sparta are

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

Jobs based in Sparta

401 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Sparta residents hold

825 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+36%

Jobs based in Sparta, 2013 → 2023: 294 → 401. 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.