Photo: Doncram · CC BY-SA 4.0West Plains’ household incomes are lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
The two grades for West Plains are D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. 28.1% of residents are in poverty, where Missouri as a whole has 12.6%. 4% of workers work from home, where Missouri as a whole has 13%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in West Plains
West Plains is where the jobs are
West Plains has 9,011 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
West Plains draws workers from far and wide
The 9,011 jobs in West Plains are filled from a wide area. West Plains’ own residents hold 28% and the ten next-biggest home towns 7%; the other 65% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Fewer than half of West Plains workers earn over $40,000 a year
39% of West Plains’ working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 17% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Few West Plains workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for West Plains
Unemployment holds West Plains’ grade up (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Plains could be anywhere from D− to C.
West Plains on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,197 residents head out to work, 2,507 work right here, and 6,504 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in West Plains on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.9 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.
Where the people who work in West Plains live
Where West Plains clocks in
6% of workers
2% of workers
1% 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.
What work there is in West Plains: 9,011 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Plains, 2013 → 2023: 8,887 → 9,011. 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 West Plains’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 21 minutes in West Plains
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Plains workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,961 commuters (the 4% 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 West Plains’ workers travel
About 27% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in West Plains walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Plains is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns, #169 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% 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 5,145 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). 9.2% of West Plains households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Plains’ commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000, and where West Plains sits
| # | 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 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Town and Country MO | 11,619 | $233K | 1.7% | 2.5% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Dardenne Prairie MO | 15,032 | $153K | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,190 | Union City TN | 10,814 | $51K | 23.5% | 5.3% | 42% | D |
| 2,191 | Wasilla AK | 10,556 | $67K | 17.5% | 8.2% | — | D |
| 2,192 | West Plains MO | 12,780 | $44K | 28.1% | 4.2% | 53% | D |
| 2,193 | Pampa TX | 16,414 | $57K | 17.2% | 6.1% | 35% | D |
| 2,194 | Fort Mohave AZ | 15,715 | $65K | 11.8% | 9.7% | 13% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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, 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 West Plains: questions
What is the median household income in West Plains?
$44,002 (±$6,769) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Plains?
28.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Plains?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Plains work?
53% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Springfield (6%, 85 mi), Willow Springs (2%, 18 mi), Jefferson City (1%, 128 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Plains walkable?
West Plains is more walkable than 49% 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 West Plains without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Plains, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Plains
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.