2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Columbia, MO vs West Plains, MO

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Highlights
- Household income in West Plains, is 33% less than it is in Columbia and is 80% below the National Average.
- Columbia unemployment rate is 3.0%.
- West Plains unemployment rate is 5.0%.
 Columbia, MOWest Plains, MOUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.0%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.8%1.6%
 Future Job Growth26.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.4%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$32,784  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$38,408$69,021
 Family Median Income$88,210  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Columbia, MOWest Plains, MOUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock21.0%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.4%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock12.2%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.2%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.6%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock6.3%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock6.1%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K5.7%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock2.2%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Columbia, MOWest Plains, MOUnited States
 Management, business, finance15.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock2.8%6.5%
 Community, social services2.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock3.5%1.2%
 Education, library10.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.5%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology9.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock1.6%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.4%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.0%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.2%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.4%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.0%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.2%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock10.9%13.1%
Reviews for Columbia    41 Reviews

If you are an active person and love to be outdoors and go to college sporting events, Columbia is a great place to live! I run and bike and go to Mizzou events a lot. I  More

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Over 4 years ago

I've live in CoMo for 20 yrs. NOT sure about this state of the art water park??!! There are great parks but nothing else for families. NO zoo, museum, and definitely no  More

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I lived there for a year and hated every minute. Columbia reminded me of the San Francisco of the Midwest. It is overrun with homeless people. Law enforcement is  More

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Reviews for West Plains    6 Reviews

Over 12 years ago

Nice place to live, though jobs are hard to come by (have to know someone). Relocated here 2 1/2 years ago, still haven't gotten a good paying job. Cost of living is low  More

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Over 15 years ago

I'm thinking of moving to West Plains Missouri. I currently live in California and have a possible job opportunity teaching at the college in West Plains. I believe I'd  More

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Over 16 years ago

We choose to live in Alton, MO because of the air quality of 75% The reason AQ in West Plains, MO is only 43 % A company there makes charcoal and a very big  More

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