Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Plattsburg has lower unemployment (1.6%) than 89% of U.S. towns
A typical one-way commute from Plattsburg lasts 37 minutes (Missouri 24, U.S. 26). Jobs and income earn Plattsburg C+; getting around on foot earns it C+. About one in ten work in Plattsburg itself; outside it, Kansas City draws the most (20%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Plattsburg
Plattsburg workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 37 minutes each way, against 24 across Missouri. Over a year that’s about 284 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Plattsburg’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Plattsburg is Kansas City, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (204) 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.
Where Plattsburg’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Plattsburg is better than 40% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Plattsburg’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (17.5%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Plattsburg could be anywhere from C− to B.
Time on the road from Plattsburg: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Plattsburg workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 940 commuters (the 7% 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 it is to work from Plattsburg
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.
A workday in Plattsburg: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 911 residents head out to work, 108 work right here, and 476 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Plattsburg on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.57 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 Plattsburg commutes to
Where Plattsburg clocks in
20% of workers
7% of workers
5% 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 584 jobs based in Plattsburg
584 jobs are based in Plattsburg.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Plattsburg, 2013 → 2023: 634 → 584. 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 Plattsburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Plattsburg commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Plattsburg is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.2% across Missouri.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,016 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). 9.9% of Plattsburg households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Plattsburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
Plattsburg places 2,727th of 5,102 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Weatherby Lake MO | 2,139 | $153K | 3.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 46 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,725 | Fruitland NC | 2,398 | $48K | 15.6% | 1.5% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,726 | Concordia MO | 2,338 | $59K | 15.5% | 1.0% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,727 | Plattsburg MO | 2,239 | $63K | 17.5% | 1.6% | 11% | C+ |
| 2,728 | Nooksack WA | 1,833 | $97K | 14.7% | 5.2% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,729 | New Durham NH | 2,890 | $100K | 5.8% | 9.4% | 4% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Plattsburg, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
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 Plattsburg: questions
What is the median household income in Plattsburg?
$63,423 (±$11,721) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Plattsburg?
17.5%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Plattsburg?
37 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Plattsburg work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (20%, 30 mi), St. Joseph (7%, 24 mi), Liberty (5%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Plattsburg walkable?
Plattsburg is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Plattsburg without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Plattsburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Plattsburg
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.