Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in La Plata have higher incomes than those in 89% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 6.6%, next to 9.4% for Maryland as a whole. For jobs and income La Plata is better than 81% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in seven stay in La Plata for work; outside it, Washington is the main destination (15%, 25 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: La Plata in brief
A lot of La Plata workers cross into Washington, D.C.
20% of La Plata workers work outside Maryland, most of them in Washington, D.C., the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
La Plata workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 31 across Maryland. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
La Plata is where the jobs are
La Plata has 7,198 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
La Plata draws workers from far and wide
The 7,198 jobs in La Plata are filled from a wide area. La Plata’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 28%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
La Plata’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside La Plata is Washington, DC, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (649) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in La Plata
Household income is its strongest input ($121,208, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 62% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Plata could be anywhere from B to A+.
Where the people who work in La Plata live
Where La Plata clocks in
15% of workers
11% of workers
2% 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.
From La Plata, about 40 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Plata workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,586 commuters (the 17% who work from home are left out). Across Maryland: 80% drive alone, 5% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In and out of La Plata on a workday
On a workday 3,785 residents head out to work, 570 work right here, and 6,628 people come in from elsewhere.
About 15,000 people are in La Plata on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Miles to work from La Plata
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.
In La Plata, services account for most jobs
7,198 jobs are based in La Plata.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Plata, 2013 → 2023: 7,367 → 7,198. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Plata’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In La Plata, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,506 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 10% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.1% of La Plata households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of La Plata’s commuters take a bus or train.
La Plata is 775th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 15 | Scaggsville MD | 10,564 | $207K | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Chevy Chase MD | 9,445 | $212K | 4.3% | 1.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 773 | Highland City FL | 13,276 | $91K | 5.9% | 2.6% | 3% | A− |
| 774 | Myrtle Grove NC | 12,637 | $113K | 6.2% | 3.1% | 6% | A− |
| 775 | La Plata MD | 12,137 | $121K | 6.6% | 3.4% | 13% | A− |
| 776 | Acushnet MA | 10,800 | $90K | 6.0% | 2.8% | 7% | A− |
| 777 | East Norriton Township PA | 14,249 | $99K | 5.8% | 5.1% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 La Plata, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
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 La Plata: questions
What is the median household income in La Plata?
$121,208 (±$21,704) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Plata?
6.6%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Plata?
40 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Plata work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (15%, 25 mi), Waldorf (11%, 6 mi), Baltimore (2%, 56 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Plata walkable?
La Plata is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Plata without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Plata, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Plata
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. 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.