Town · Yoakum County, Texas

Plains, Texas

Plains is a town in Yoakum County, Texas. It has 1,235 residents. Plains, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,958 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #436 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), grocery stores (high) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), mammography screening (low) and dentists (low).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,958 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #436 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 1,235 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 824.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 4857968

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety36#9,953/15,637
Economy32#10,664/15,631
Housing74#3,956/14,977
Health15#13,265/15,609
Healthcare4#15,048/15,650
Environment53#7,205/15,453
Education5#14,874/15,649
Infrastructure38#9,696/15,650
Community62#5,973/15,651
Leisure & amenities25#11,745/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Plains, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Yoakum County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Preventable hospital stays · low1,246 /100k
99/100Texas 2,991 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYoakum County value
Grocery stores · high4.0 /10k
98/100Texas 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsYoakum County value
Rent as share of income · low12.7%
97/100Texas 30.9%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Public libraries · high2.7 /10k
95/100Texas 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesYoakum County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.7×
94/100Texas 3.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Texas 5.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataYoakum County value

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low14.0%
0/100Texas 40.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYoakum County value
Mammography screening · low22.0%
0/100Texas 42.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYoakum County value
Dentists · low13 /100k
2/100Texas 63 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYoakum County value
Reading scores · low2.51
2/100Texas 2.89United States 3.052018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteYoakum County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high191 mi
3/100Texas 43 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauYoakum County value
Job growth · low-4.3%
3/100Texas 0.6%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataYoakum County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

High school diploma or higherImproving
56.8% (2015-2019) → 82.0% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.4% (2015-2019) → 98.6% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
28.9% (2015-2019) → 14.6% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeWorsening
18.5 min (2015-2019) → 28.8 min (2020-2024)
+56%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.1× (2015-2019) → 1.7× (2020-2024)
+55%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$54,211 (2015-2019) → $76,985 (2020-2024)
+42%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Plains, Texas improved on 3 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

High school++25 points56.8% → 82.0%
Broadband+19 points79.4% → 98.6%
Household income+42%$54,211 → $76,985

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Plains, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.5 min2015-2019	28.8 min2020-2024	+10.3 min	Within the margin of error	2%
Broadband subscriptions	79.4%2015-2019	98.6%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
High school diploma or higher	56.8%2015-2019	82.0%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	100%
Home price to income ratio	1.1×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	41%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3132015-2019	0.3652020-2024	+0.052	Within the margin of error	15%
Median household income	$54,2112015-2019	$76,9852020-2024	+42%	Improved	76%
Poverty rate	13.1%2015-2019	15.5%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	18.5%2015-2019	12.7%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	28.8%2015-2019	27.9%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	58%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Plains, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Plains, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Plains, Texas itself moved +0.3 points in standing on average over the same 7 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,235 residents (±354)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

508 households (±152)

Plains, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k13%†65
$25k–50k10%†52
$50k–75k16%

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

508 households (±152)

Plains, Texas
Texas share

Own76%†388
Rent24%†120

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

539 workers (±190)

Plains, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone91%†490
Carpool9.1%†49
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Yoakum County, the county holding most of Plains's residents.

Yoakum County has 192 employer establishments, 258 for every 10,000 residents (1.04× the US rate of 248; 1.18× Texas's), with 2,103 paid employees at an average annual pay of $74,664. The Census Bureau also counts 668 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 192; 668 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 258; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 2,103
Average annual pay: $74,664; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Yoakum County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	14	18.8	1.02×About typical	151	$16,179	5
Specialty trade contractors	14	18.8	1.22×About typical	132	$62,750	85
Truck transportation	11	14.8	2.92×More than typical	76	$92,368	46
Religious organizations	9	12.1	2.18×Too few to compare	33	$22,970	—
Banks and credit unions	7	9.4	2.91×Too few to compare	38	$58,026	—
Full-service restaurants	6	8.1	1.05×Too few to compare	58	$14,466	—
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	5	6.7	3.85×Too few to compare	30	$47,033	3
Building equipment contractors	5	6.7	1.12×Too few to compare	38	$67,474	14
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	5	6.7	2.13×Too few to compare	76	$60,987	17
Gasoline stations	5	6.7	2.07×Too few to compare	59	$28,373	—
Limited-service restaurants	5	6.7	0.84×Too few to compare	72	$19,125	3
Management, scientific and technical consulting	5	6.7	1.00×Too few to compare	14	$59,143	12

Rank places for an industry Open Yoakum County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 7,440 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Plains is mostly in Yoakum County.

See federal money in Yoakum County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Plains, Texas is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jodey C. ArringtonR-TX-19 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Yoakum County35100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Yoakum County

Largest first.

Denver City274,368

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4857968

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends