Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs, pay and the trip to work in The Plains
The trip to work takes 25 minutes on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 32% of workers have no commute at all, against 18% across Virginia. Hardly any stay in The Plains for work; outside it, Washington is the main destination (6%, 41 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of The Plains
On a workday 106 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 165 people come in from elsewhere.
About 320 people are in The Plains on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
1.6 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.
Who travels to work in The Plains, and from where
Where The Plains clocks in
6% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in The Plains
165 jobs are based in The Plains.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in The Plains, 2013 → 2023: 172 → 165. 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 The Plains’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from The Plains: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of The Plains workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 78 commuters (the 32% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% 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 The Plains 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.
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 The Plains: questions
What is the median household income in The Plains?
$84,375 (±$46,381) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in The Plains?
5.5%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from The Plains?
25 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in The Plains work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (6%, 41 mi), Arlington (6%, 36 mi), Warrenton (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around The Plains without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from The Plains, from the people who make the trip.
More of The 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.