For more than half of its working residents, La Plata is a commute to Farmington
La Plata grades D for jobs and income and D− for walkability. 3% of workers work from home, next to 12% for New Mexico as a whole. Measured by household income, La Plata is behind 78% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in La Plata: the gist
More than half of La Plata works in Farmington
421 working residents, 51%, have their main job in Farmington, 9.9 miles away across the town line. That’s 17 times as many as work in La Plata itself. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in La Plata than ten years ago
Jobs counted in La Plata fell from 420 in 2013 to 169 in 2023, −60%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
La Plata is a place people come home to
There are 169 jobs based in La Plata, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday La Plata has about 1,600 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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; with 825 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
La Plata’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty and job access, La Plata is better than 9% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds La Plata’s grade up (ahead of 31% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (35.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (8.5%) is left out: La Plata’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, La Plata could be anywhere from D− to C−.
Where the trip to work from La Plata ends
Where La Plata clocks in
51% of workers
6% of workers
4% 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.
28% of the jobs in La Plata make or build things
169 jobs are based in La Plata.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Plata, 2013 → 2023: 420 → 169. 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.
Who works in La Plata, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 802 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 146 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in La Plata on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.20 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.
From La Plata, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Plata workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 625 commuters (the 3% who work from home are left out). Across New Mexico: 84% 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 La Plata’s workers travel
About 17% 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.
Most trips from La Plata start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, La Plata is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place La Plata near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 647 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 2% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 40% 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). 5.4% of La Plata households have no vehicle (New Mexico 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of La Plata’s commuters take a bus or train.
La Plata places 4,479th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 704 | Picacho Hills NM | 2,002 | $121K | 5.6% | 1.7% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 887 | Tres Arroyos NM | 1,926 | $88K | 2.2% | 5.1% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,162 | Mesilla NM | 1,818 | $75K | 4.5% | 6.8% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,477 | Tropical Park FL | 2,355 | $36K | 38.0% | 3.4% | 2% | D |
| 4,478 | Natalbany LA | 2,416 | $32K | 40.8% | 8.8% | 1% | D |
| 4,479 | La Plata NM | 2,233 | $57K | 35.7% | 8.5% | 3% | D |
| 4,480 | Peaceful Valley WA | 2,858 | $60K | 17.1% | 6.2% | 2% | D |
| 4,481 | Sibley IA | 2,762 | $55K | 23.5% | 6.7% | 39% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 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 La Plata, the top three, the last and three more from New Mexico.
Next door is work for 51% of La Plata
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | La Plata workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Plata | – | D | D− | 24 min | $57,071 |
| Farmington | 51% | C+ | A− | 20 min | $68,784 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Farmington. Darker towns draw more of La Plata’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 La Plata: questions
What is the median household income in La Plata?
$57,071 (±$15,336) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $64,059 across New Mexico and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Plata?
35.7%, against 17.8% across New Mexico and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Plata?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Plata work?
3% work in town.
Is La Plata walkable?
La Plata is more walkable than 2% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Plata without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 2% 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.