Work & commute · Van Buren

Work & commute in Van Buren, MO

About one in 5 of Van Buren’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Poplar Bluff (10%), Doniphan (2%) and Ellsinore (1%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

53 of 267 working residents

Typical commute

18 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 214 Van Buren residents head out of town to work, 53 work right here, and 309 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Van Buren.

214live here, work elsewhere

53live and work here

309work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Van Buren goes to work

Van Buren (in town)right here

20%53

Poplar Bluff37.1 mi away

10%28

Doniphan28.9 mi away

2%6

Ellsinore15.4 mi away

1%4

Ellington15.5 mi away

1%3

Dexter59.7 mi away

1%3

St. Louis119.5 mi away

1%3

Fredericktown54.1 mi away

1%2

Kirkwood112.8 mi away

1%2

Farmington61.9 mi away

1%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

60%161

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

How far

How far Van Buren commutes

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

44%

21%

26%

44%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Van Buren is balanced between jobs and homes

1.36jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.36 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Van Buren are

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

Jobs based in Van Buren

362 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities8%

Services (health, schools, offices…)88%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month37%

Jobs Van Buren residents hold

267 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month42%

−38%

Jobs based in Van Buren, 2013 → 2023: 588 → 362. 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.