Photo: Doug Wertman from Rogers, AR, USA · CC BY 2.0Jobs and the daily commute in Altus
125 jobs are based in Altus, against 210 working residents. Only 5% work in Altus itself; outside it, Ozark draws the most (22%, 6 miles). Working residents average 18 minutes each way, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Altus
Altus and Ozark trade workers both ways
Ozark is the top workplace for Altus residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Altus come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Altus are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 23 across Arkansas. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Arkansas worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 210 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Altus goes to work
Where Altus clocks in
22% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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.
About 18 minutes each way, quicker than most of Arkansas
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Altus workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 308 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Arkansas: 87% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The workday shuffle in and out of Altus
On a workday 200 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 115 people come in from elsewhere.
About 600 people are in Altus on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.60 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
In Altus, 63% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Altus, 2013 → 2023: 135 → 125. 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 Altus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Altus
About 23% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Around Altus: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Altus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altus | – | — | — | 18 min | $47,500 |
| Wiederkehr Village | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Denning | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Wiederkehr Village and Denning: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Altus’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Altus: questions
What is the median household income in Altus?
$47,500 (±$21,115) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Altus?
23.8%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Altus?
18 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Altus work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ozark (22%, 6 mi), Fort Smith (10%, 35 mi), Clarksville (7%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Altus without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Altus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Altus
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.