Pleasant Valley has lower unemployment (1.9%) than 86% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 23 minutes each way, about the same as across Missouri. Jobs and income earn Pleasant Valley A; getting around on foot earns it B−. Only 1% stay in Pleasant Valley for work; outside it, Kansas City is the main destination (38%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Pleasant Valley apart on work
Pleasant Valley trades workers with the towns around it
Pleasant Valley has about as many jobs (1,519) as working residents (1,454), but they are mostly different people: 1,438 residents leave for work each day while 1,503 people come in. Only 1% of the jobs in Pleasant Valley are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Much of Pleasant Valley works one town over
53% of working residents work in a town that borders Pleasant Valley: Kansas City (38%), Liberty (9%) and Claycomo (6%). Next door ↓
Pleasant Valley makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Pleasant Valley are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Pleasant Valley residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. The jobs ↓
Pleasant Valley has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Pleasant Valley went from 1,126 in 2013 to 1,519 in 2023, +35%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Pleasant Valley earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pleasant Valley is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #36 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($75,682, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pleasant Valley could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Who commutes out of Pleasant Valley, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,438 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 1,503 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 (1.04 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A place that makes things: 37% of Pleasant Valley’s jobs are in goods
1,519 jobs are based in Pleasant Valley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pleasant Valley, 2013 → 2023: 1,126 → 1,519. 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 Pleasant Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Pleasant Valley’s working residents head each day
Where Pleasant Valley clocks in
38% 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.
A commute of about 23 minutes in Pleasant Valley
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pleasant Valley workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,405 commuters (the 10% 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.
Where in the region Pleasant Valley works
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.
Pleasant Valley is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pleasant Valley is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #154 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 1,556 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.4% of Pleasant Valley households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pleasant Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pleasant Valley is 422nd of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Weatherby Lake MO | 2,139 | $153K | 3.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 91 | Clarkson Valley MO | 2,540 | $247K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 420 | Sleepy Hollow IL | 3,122 | $150K | 4.7% | 5.1% | <1% | A |
| 421 | Berwyn Heights MD | 3,338 | $147K | 6.6% | 4.4% | 1% | A |
| 422 | Pleasant Valley MO | 2,747 | $76K | 4.5% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| 423 | Kohler WI | 2,272 | $136K | 2.4% | 4.1% | 13% | A |
| 424 | Washington Township OH | 3,083 | $71K | 4.1% | 0.3% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Pleasant Valley, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns next door employ 53% of Pleasant Valley
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pleasant Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Valley | – | A | B− | 23 min | $75,682 |
| Liberty | 9% | B+ | B | 23 min | $88,542 |
| Kansas City | 38% | B− | A | 22 min | $69,166 |
| Claycomo | 6% | C | B+ | 18 min | $49,343 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kansas City. Darker towns draw more of Pleasant Valley’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 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 Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Pleasant Valley?
$75,682 (±$18,208) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pleasant Valley?
4.5%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pleasant Valley?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pleasant Valley work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (38%, 7 mi), Liberty (9%, 4 mi), Claycomo (6%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pleasant Valley walkable?
Pleasant Valley is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pleasant Valley without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pleasant Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pleasant Valley
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.