Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of West Plains spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 16.33 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
Being a small city, West Plains does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
The population of West Plains overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in West Plains, 21.79% have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in West Plains in 2022 was $22,909, 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 $91,636 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 33.77% 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, German, English, French, and European.
The most common language spoken in West Plains is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
