Mai-Kai Restaurant · Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 3.0Oakland Park has higher unemployment (5.8%) than 72% of U.S. towns
The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. Jobs and income earn Oakland Park B−; getting around on foot earns it A. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 31.0 in Miami.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Oakland Park apart on work
Oakland Park trades workers with the towns around it
Oakland Park has about as many jobs (21,507) as working residents (20,626), but they are mostly different people: 19,288 residents leave for work each day while 20,169 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Oakland Park are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Oakland Park draws workers from far and wide
The 21,507 jobs in Oakland Park are filled from a wide area. Oakland Park’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Oakland Park earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oakland Park is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #314 of 638 in Florida. Job access by car holds Oakland Park’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oakland Park could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
How many people are in Oakland Park by day
On a workday 19,288 residents head out to work, 1,338 work right here, and 20,169 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
22% of working residents work in Fort Lauderdale
Where Oakland Park clocks in
22% 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.
What work there is in Oakland Park: 21,507 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oakland Park, 2014 → 2024: 17,040 → 21,507. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Oakland Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes to work from Oakland Park
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oakland Park workers work from home, vs 16% across Florida. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 22,269 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Florida: 83% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Oakland Park
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Oakland Park, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oakland Park is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #57 of 638 in Florida. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above the 3.6% across Florida.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 25,263 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 96% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 34% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.0% of Oakland Park households have no vehicle (Florida 6.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Oakland Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Oakland Park ranks: 633rd of 953 U.S. towns of 32,000 to 61,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Parkland FL | 39,186 | $199K | 4.3% | 3.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Fruit Cove FL | 35,877 | $142K | 2.7% | 2.8% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Cooper City FL | 35,030 | $132K | 5.0% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 631 | Garfield NJ | 33,353 | $80K | 13.4% | 6.7% | 7% | B− |
| 632 | Sahuarita AZ | 37,694 | $105K | 8.6% | 6.4% | 11% | B− |
| 633 | Oakland Park FL | 45,332 | $73K | 12.1% | 5.8% | 6% | B− |
| 634 | Canton GA | 40,778 | $80K | 12.9% | 4.7% | 12% | B− |
| 635 | Wildomar CA | 37,889 | $104K | 10.6% | 7.7% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Oakland Park, the top three, the last and three more from Florida.
Work next door: 22% of Oakland Park’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oakland Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Park | – | B− | A | 26 min | $72,708 |
| Fort Lauderdale | 22% | B | A | 26 min | $83,130 |
| Wilton Manors | under 3% | B+ | A | 27 min | $85,392 |
| Lauderdale Lakes | under 3% | C− | A | 27 min | $50,006 |
| Tamarac | under 3% | B− | A− | 31 min | $61,718 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fort Lauderdale. Darker towns draw more of Oakland Park’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 2024, 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 Oakland Park: questions
What is the median household income in Oakland Park?
$72,708 (±$4,246) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,568 across Florida and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oakland Park?
12.1%, against 12.6% across Florida and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oakland Park?
26 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Florida and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oakland Park work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Lauderdale (22%, 3 mi), Pompano Beach (7%, 4 mi), Sunrise (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Oakland Park walkable?
Oakland Park is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.5 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oakland Park without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 34% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oakland Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oakland Park
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.