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Jobs & commute in Plato

Plato has 5.6 jobs for every working resident: 107 people commute in to work

For 0% of workers, the job is at home; Missouri has 13%. Plato has 107 jobs, and 19 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Plato; the top destination outside it is Houston (37%, 19 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Plato by day and by night

On a workday 19 residents head out to work and none work right here.

19live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
107work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night91
Workday180
91live here− 19head out to work+ 110come in to work= 180on a workday

About 180 people are in Plato on a workday afternoon, 97% more than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
5.63jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

Where Plato’s workers come from

PlatoLickingHouston: 12 workers live here (11%)Willow SpringsMountain Grove: 4 workers live here (4%)WaynesvilleSt. RobertRollaKansas CitySpringfieldPiney Township: 11 workers live here (10%)Sherrill Township: 7 workers live here (7%)Lynch Township: 9 workers live here (8%)Morris Township: 2 workers live here (2%)Roubidoux Township: 11 workers live here (10%)Clinton Township: 3 workers live here (3%)Upton Township: 2 workers live here (2%)Cass Township: 2 workers live here (2%)HoustonPiney TownshipRoubidoux TownshipLynch TownshipSherrill TownshipMountain GrovePlato
1
Houston18.8 mi away
11%12
2
Piney Township18.3 mi away
10%11
310%11
4
Lynch Township12.8 mi away
8%9
5
Sherrill Township21.1 mi away
7%7
6
Mountain Grove25.5 mi away
4%4
7
Clinton Township25.7 mi away
3%3
8
Morris Township15.8 mi away
2%2
9
Upton Township6.9 mi away
2%2
10
Cass Township24.9 mi away
2%2
Everywhere elseother towns and states
41%44
The top trips

Where Plato clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Plato

Jobs based in PlatoJobs Plato residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%11%
Trade, transport & utilities0%21%
Services: health, schools, offices100%68%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less23%5%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%47%
Over $3,333 a month51%47%

Who does it

29 or younger20%21%
30 to 5455%53%
55 and older25%26%
−14%

Jobs based in Plato, 2013 → 2023: 124 → 107. 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 Plato’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

A commute of about 43 minutes in Plato

A year of commuting
329 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Plato43 min
Missouri24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Plato workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Plato gets to work
83%Drive alone
13%Carpool
4%Other

Share of the 54 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 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.

How far

Short hops and long hauls from Plato

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miHouston: 37% · 18.8 miWillow Springs: 11% · 38.3 miWaynesville: 11% · 22 miLicking: 5% · 19.6 miSt. Robert: 5% · 23 miRolla: 5% · 39.6 miKansas City: 5% · 169 miSpringfield: 5% · 62.7 miPiney Township: 5% · 18.3 miSherrill Township: 5% · 21.1 miHouston 37%Willow Springs 11%Waynesville 11%Licking 5%St. Robert 5%Plato
PlatoTop destinations (size = commuters)
0%Under 10 mi0 residents
63%10–24 mi12 residents
26%25–50 mi5 residents
11%Over 50 mi2 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Plato: questions

What is the poverty rate in Plato?

1.6%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Plato?

43 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Plato work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (37%, 19 mi), Willow Springs (11%, 38 mi), Waynesville (11%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Plato 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 Plato, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Plato

Plato home →

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.