Photo: Bill Whittaker (Transfered by Missionary/Original uploaded by Billwhittaker) · CC BY-SA 3.0Making a living in Pleasant Plain
Working residents average 22 minutes each way; Iowa averages 20, the U.S. 26. Hardly any work in Pleasant Plain; the top destination outside it is Fairfield (35%, 11 miles). The Census job records count 31 working residents of Pleasant Plain and no jobs based in it.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who works in Pleasant Plain, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 31 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.
About 45 people are in Pleasant Plain on a workday afternoon, 41% fewer than live here.
0.00 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Pleasant Plain commutes to
Where Pleasant Plain clocks in
35% of workers
6% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The trip to work from Pleasant Plain: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pleasant Plain workers work from home, vs 11% across Iowa. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 45 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Iowa: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The distance from Pleasant Plain to work
About 29% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Pleasant Plain: questions
What is the median household income in Pleasant Plain?
$86,458 (±$49,832) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,059 across Iowa and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pleasant Plain?
6.5%, against 11.1% across Iowa and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pleasant Plain?
22 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Iowa and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pleasant Plain work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fairfield (35%, 11 mi), Bloomfield (6%, 40 mi), Centerville (6%, 60 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Pleasant Plain without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pleasant Plain, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pleasant Plain
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.