Oakland has higher household incomes than 86% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 6.4%, where Missouri as a whole has 12.6%. For jobs and income Oakland is better than 96% of U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (B+). 21% of workers have no commute at all (Missouri 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Oakland in brief
Oakland and St. Louis trade workers both ways
St. Louis is the top workplace for Oakland residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Oakland come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Oakland residents work close to home
67% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
A lot of Oakland works from home
21% of Oakland workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. 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 604 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Oakland’s grade
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
Unemployment (5.4%) is left out: Oakland’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Oakland could be anywhere from A to A+.
23% of working residents work in St. Louis
Where Oakland clocks in
23% of workers
5% 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.
How far Oakland goes to work
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.
A commute of about 20 minutes in Oakland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oakland workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 429 commuters (the 21% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% 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.
How many people are in Oakland by day
On a workday 598 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 486 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 (0.81 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
492 jobs are based in Oakland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oakland, 2013 → 2023: 551 → 492. 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 Oakland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Driving is how Oakland gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.2% across Missouri.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 543 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 58% 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). 7.3% of Oakland households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oakland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Oakland next to U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900: 149th of 5,877 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Loch Lloyd MO | 1,090 | $184K | 2.5% | 0.5% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | LaBarque Creek MO | 1,457 | $133K | 1.1% | 1.7% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 147 | Big Rock IL | 1,090 | $163K | 3.2% | 2.2% | 2% | A+ |
| 148 | Libertytown MD | 1,346 | $114K | 1.0% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 149 | Oakland MO | 1,372 | $115K | 6.4% | 5.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 150 | Thornville OH | 1,111 | $102K | 1.7% | 1.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 151 | Foxcliff Estates IN | 1,674 | $142K | 2.8% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
Work in the towns next to Oakland
The biggest share goes to Kirkwood (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oakland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | – | A+ | B+ | 20 min | $114,861 |
| Glendale | under 3% | A+ | A− | 19 min | $170,700 |
| Crestwood | under 3% | A+ | B | 20 min | $107,169 |
| Webster Groves | 3% | A | A | 19 min | $115,227 |
| Kirkwood | 4% | A | A− | 20 min | $121,270 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oakland’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 Oakland: questions
What is the median household income in Oakland?
$114,861 (±$14,162) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oakland?
6.4%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oakland?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oakland work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Louis (23%, 9 mi), Creve Coeur (5%, 7 mi), Clayton (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oakland walkable?
Oakland is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 13.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oakland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oakland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oakland
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.