Rolla is a medium-sized city located in the state of Missouri. With a population of 20,660 people and eight associated neighborhoods, Rolla is the 35th largest community in Missouri.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Rolla is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Rolla is a city of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Rolla who work in teaching (13.20%), office and administrative support (12.29%), and management occupations (9.07%). Also of interest is that Rolla has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Because Rolla has a very large number of students who are 18 years or older and in college, it is thought of as a college town. This has a major influence on local Rolla lifestyle, entertainment, and culture in general. Life in Rolla is very much tied to the academic calendar: when students return from the summer break in the fall, one will notice them out and about, buying groceries, out with friends, and generally getting re-acquainted with each other. In Rolla people study hard and play hard, and there is ample opportunity to do both. One of the benefits of Rolla is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 15.06 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.The citizens of Rolla are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 35.62% of adults in Rolla have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Rolla in 2022 was $25,226, which is lower middle income relative to Missouri, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $100,904 for a family of four. However, Rolla contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Rolla is a very ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Rolla home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Rolla residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Rolla include German, Irish, English, French, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Rolla is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Langs. of India.
