About one in three working Macon County residents has a job outside the county, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Of an estimated 6,554 county residents 16 and older who worked, about 4,389, or 67%, worked in Macon County, according to the survey's five-year estimates for 2020 through 2024. About 2,041 worked in another Missouri county, and about 124 worked outside Missouri.
That 33% share of workers leaving the county is slightly above the statewide figure of about 32%.
Long commutes are more common in Macon County than statewide. Among county workers who did not work from home, about 14% spent 45 minutes or more getting to work, compared with about 12% statewide. About 7% traveled an hour or more each way, compared with about 5% statewide.
Short trips are also more common. About 31% of the county's commuters got to work in less than 10 minutes, about double the statewide share of about 16%.
The survey measures where residents work and how long the one-way trip usually takes. The table does not say which counties Macon County residents travel to. The estimates are based on a sample, and the count of residents working in another Missouri county carries a margin of error of about 242 workers.
The county's neighbors range widely. Monroe County was the only one of the eight counties, Macon and the seven that border it, where more than half of working residents, about 56%, had jobs outside their home county. Chariton County was next at about 47%, followed by Shelby County at 38% and Macon County at 33%. Linn County was at about 28%, Knox County at about 27%, and Randolph County at about 26%.
Adair County, home to Kirksville, kept about 91% of its working residents at jobs inside the county, the highest share of the eight. Only about 9% worked elsewhere.
Macon County's share of long commutes, 45 minutes or more, was third highest of the eight. Monroe County led at 15.7%, followed by Chariton County at 15.3% and Macon County at 13.9%. Randolph County was at 12.9%, Shelby County at 11.9%, Knox County at 9.6%, Linn County at 8.6%, and Adair County at 5.5%.