Earning a living in West Plains Township
About one in seven work in West Plains Township itself; outside it, Liberal draws the most (12%, 26 miles). Jobs and income earn West Plains Township D; getting around on foot earns it D. 5% of workers work from home, next to 12% for Kansas as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from West Plains Township, in brief
West Plains Township makes and builds things
64% of the jobs based in West Plains Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs West Plains Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 31%. The jobs ↓
West Plains Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside West Plains Township is Liberal, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (46) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The jobs in West Plains Township pay better than its residents’ jobs
80% of the jobs based in West Plains Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 56% of the jobs West Plains Township residents hold. 86% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside West Plains Township. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 394 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: West Plains Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, West Plains Township is better than 14% of U.S. towns. Household income holds West Plains Township’s grade up ($72,273, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down.
Unemployment (2.7%) is left out: West Plains Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, West Plains Township could be anywhere from D to C.
A place that makes things: 64% of West Plains Township’s jobs are in goods
430 jobs are based in West Plains Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Plains Township, 2014 → 2024: 278 → 430. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Plains Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from West Plains Township
About 24% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The daily commute in and out of West Plains Township
On a workday 333 residents head out to work, 61 work right here, and 369 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where people from West Plains Township work
Where West Plains Township clocks in
12% of workers
9% 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.
About 15 minutes to work from West Plains Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Plains Township workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 543 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Kansas: 85% 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.
In West Plains Township, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.4% across Kansas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 574 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.0% of West Plains Township households have no vehicle (Kansas 5.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Plains Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, West Plains Township ranks 2,883rd of 3,771 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Lake Quivira KS | 1,005 | $178K | 3.8% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Delaware Township KS | 1,121 | $119K | 2.4% | 0.0% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Kanwaka Township KS | 1,493 | $126K | 2.5% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,881 | Holiday Lakes TX | 1,059 | $45K | 32.6% | 11.1% | 0% | D |
| 2,882 | Mill Creek Township KS | 1,008 | $62K | 12.9% | 2.5% | 9% | D |
| 2,883 | West Plains Township KS | 1,113 | $72K | 17.9% | 2.7% | 15% | D |
| 2,884 | Freeman Township MI | 1,138 | $54K | 9.9% | 5.0% | 1% | D |
| 2,885 | Sheridan Township MI | 1,048 | $62K | 12.3% | 6.6% | 0% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of West Plains Township, the top three, the last and three more from Kansas.
The towns around West Plains Township
The biggest share goes to Cimarron Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Plains Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Plains Township | – | D | D | 15 min | $72,273 |
| Mertilla Township | under 3% | — | — | 11 min | — |
| Cimarron Township | 4% | — | — | — | — |
| Meade Center Township | under 3% | C+ | A− | 18 min | $75,107 |
Same-state neighbors only. Mertilla Township and Cimarron Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Plains Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, 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 West Plains Township: questions
What is the median household income in West Plains Township?
$72,273 (±$5,100) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Plains Township?
17.9%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Plains Township?
15 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Plains Township work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Liberal (12%, 26 mi), Plains (10%, 3 mi), Meade (9%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Plains Township walkable?
West Plains Township is more walkable than 12% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Plains Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Plains Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Plains Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.