About one in three of Playas’ working residents commute to Lordsburg
Working residents average 9 minutes each way (New Mexico 24, U.S. 26). Only 0% work in Playas; the top destination outside it is Lordsburg (33%, 31 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Playas quiets down on a workday
On a workday 6 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10 people are in Playas on a workday afternoon, 38% fewer than live here.
0.00 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.
33% of working residents work in Lordsburg
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Playas clocks in
33% of workers
17% of workers
17% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 9 minutes each way, quicker than most of New Mexico
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Playas workers work from home, vs 12% across New Mexico. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 16 commuters (the 0% 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.
Half of Playas commutes less than 63 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 67% 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.
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.
- Two counts of out-of-state work. The Census survey asks workers where they work: 0% of Playas workers work outside New Mexico. The job records count 33% at employers in other states. The records use the address the employer reports and skip the self-employed, so the two can differ.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Playas: questions
How long is the commute from Playas?
9 minutes each way on average, against 24 across New Mexico and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Playas work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lordsburg (33%, 31 mi), Duncan (17%, 66 mi), Silver City (17%, 62 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Playas, from the people who make the trip.
More of Playas
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.