About 10% more Missourians travel outside of their residential county for work than two decades ago, according to a new report. University of Missouri social sciences professor Alan Spell co-authored the report and found that 54% of jobs in metro areas were held by people living in another county in 2023.
“Missouri’s fortunate in that we have a fairly diverse economy, and we have hot spots of economic activity kind of spread out around our state,” he said.
The report also found that Missourians are willing to travel farther for work than before, particularly for those living in more rural communities. It’s often a case of choosing to live in more affordable counties, even at the cost of a longer commute.
“That's just life, and that’s because people aren’t widgets. We go to where the employment opportunities are and where our special skills are needed,” Spell said.
While there has been a long-term migration of Americans from rural to metro areas, Spell said county-to-county commutes can also be between two non-metro areas, which affects the money spent in those areas.
“We also don't want to forget that commuting, even if it is two counties across, if it's your livelihood and it's paying the bills for you back at home, well, that's good for that home community,” he said.
In Mid-Missouri, commuting varies between the metro and non-metro areas. In Jefferson City, for example, more than 60% of employees travel into Cole County for work. Neighboring counties have a 50-60% rate except for Boone County, which has 40-50% inter-county travel.
“What you saw was people being priced out of Boone County, finding more affordable housing outside of Boone County, and then commuting into the city of Columbia,” said Amarach Planning Services owner David Boston. Amarach helps plan affordable housing and Boston wrote a 2024 report on Boone County labor and commute habits.
“You really had this mismatch between employment and housing availability in Boone County that the county and the city were both really interested in trying to address,” Boston said.
Boston added there’s a trade-off when choosing between living close to work or commuting.
“For folks who can’t afford to live close to their job, they are paying for that with their time, right, and so it just decreases the quality of life in general,” he said.
Boston’s report found that though the majority of the employment in Boone County is in Columbia, a significant number of people seek more affordable housing in neighboring counties.
Justin Krohn is a Research Project Analyst who also co-authored the commuting between counties report. Krohn said the accessibility of highways in Missouri makes it even more possible for commuters.
“The Midwest is generally a pretty easy place in which to commute because of those highway systems. The geography around here is such that it's relatively easy to put in roads and highways,” he said.
While the data helps understand where people live compared to their work, Krohn said one limitation to the report is it compares residential information with working addresses, meaning those who work remotely or hybrid could not be accounted for. Remote work could also have an impact on the future of commuting.
“With the internet and stuff coming on, there were just really big things that led to a radical shift in how people work,” Krohn said.
As hybrid work becomes more possible for people across industries, employees might take advantage of only having to commute a few times a week and distance themselves even more than they would normally.
“I have a feeling that the hybrid option .. will likely expand the desire for folks a little farther out, because they can live more cost effectively,” Spell said.
Spell said it's important for cities to accommodate those wanting to live closer with affordable housing, while also keeping roads in good condition and allowing for accessibility of professional training outside of metro counties. This means local governments may have to weigh the different priorities based on these changes.
“So it's a judgment call of whether or not you want to spend money on maintaining highways and helping people get to where they need to get to, or do you want to spend some money on other options, like housing, for example,” he said.
He also hopes that the report will bring attention to how commuting plays into the economy and implicates where people are spending their money.
“I don't think anyone would say right now I love commuting, but it is an integral part of our economy, and so understanding the trends of where commuting is happening, and is it growing or shrinking, I think is just important for us to understand,” Spell said.
