In addition, Rolla is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Rolla culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Rolla really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Rolla every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Rolla. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Rolla benefits directly from this.
Rolla, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 14.98 minutes getting to work every day.
As is often the case in a small city, Rolla doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The education level of Rolla citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 36.67% of adults in Rolla have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.
The per capita income in Rolla in 2022 was $23,040, 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 $92,160 for a family of four. However, Rolla contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Rolla is a somewhat 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.
