Ozark Courthouse Square Historic District · Photo: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Ozark trail those of 90% of U.S. towns
17.8% of residents live below the poverty line, against 16.0% across Arkansas. The two grades for Ozark are D for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. About one in three stay in Ozark for work; outside it, Fort Smith is the main destination (14%, 31 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Ozark
Ozark is where the jobs are
Ozark has 2,769 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 5,100 people are in town, 40% more than the 3,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Ozark’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ozark is Fort Smith, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (190) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer than half of Ozark workers earn over $40,000 a year
41% of Ozark’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Ozark are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 23 across Arkansas. That’s about 46 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.
Where Ozark’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ozark is better than 6% of U.S. towns, #100 of 123 in Arkansas. Job access by car holds Ozark’s grade up (ahead of 30% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (13.0%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ozark could be anywhere from D− to C+.
How many people are in Ozark by day
On a workday 922 residents head out to work, 396 work right here, and 2,373 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,100 people are in Ozark on a workday afternoon, 40% more than live here.
2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Ozark
About 21% 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.
Inside Ozark’s 2,769 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ozark, 2013 → 2023: 2,531 → 2,769. 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 Ozark’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Ozark, about 17 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ozark workers work from home, vs 9% across Arkansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,274 commuters (the 2% 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.
Where Ozark’s workforce comes from
Where Ozark clocks in
14% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
Getting around Ozark: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ozark is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #57 of 123 in Arkansas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.0% across Arkansas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,298 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.0% of Ozark households have no vehicle (Arkansas 5.9%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ozark’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Ozark compares with U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 180 | Johnson AR | 3,684 | $96K | 2.2% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 230 | Austin AR | 4,017 | $114K | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 396 | Salem AR | 2,642 | $74K | 2.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,193 | Pembroke NC | 2,888 | $26K | 39.1% | 3.9% | 13% | D |
| 4,194 | Kualapuu HI | 2,535 | $63K | 19.8% | 7.2% | 8% | D |
| 4,195 | Ozark AR | 3,628 | $48K | 17.8% | 13.0% | 30% | D |
| 4,196 | Anna IL | 4,096 | $33K | 34.3% | 6.7% | 28% | D |
| 4,197 | Frederick OK | 3,371 | $45K | 25.0% | 5.0% | 37% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,474 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ozark, the top three, the last and three more from Arkansas.
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 Ozark: questions
What is the median household income in Ozark?
$47,686 (±$10,219) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,773 across Arkansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ozark?
17.8%, against 16.0% across Arkansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ozark?
17 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Arkansas and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ozark work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Smith (14%, 31 mi), Clarksville (4%, 21 mi), Russellville (4%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ozark walkable?
Ozark is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ozark without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ozark, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ozark
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.