One of the benefits of West Plains is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 16.85 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
Being a small city, West Plains does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
In terms of college education, West Plains is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 17.74% of adults 25 and older in West Plains have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in West Plains in 2022 was $23,486, which is lower middle income relative to Missouri, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $93,944 for a family of four. However, West Plains contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. West Plains also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 30.98% of its population below the federal poverty line.
The people who call West Plains home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of West Plains residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in West Plains include Irish, English, German, Italian, and French.
The most common language spoken in West Plains is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
