Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Altus trail those of 81% of U.S. towns
More than half stay in Altus for work; outside it, Oklahoma City is the main destination (8%, 116 miles). The poverty rate is 17.4%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma. Altus grades D for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Altus in brief
Altus’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Altus is Oklahoma City, 116 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (489) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Commutes from Altus are quick
The average trip to work takes 11 minutes, against 22 across Oklahoma. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical Oklahoma worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Altus go to people who live here
Of the 6,754 jobs based in Altus, 50% are held by Altus residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Why Altus gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Altus is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #93 of 131 in Oklahoma. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Altus’ grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Altus could be anywhere from D to C−.
The distance from Altus to work
About 33% 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.
Commuting from Altus: about 11 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Altus workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,310 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Oklahoma: 85% 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 2,780 residents head out to work, 3,355 work right here, and 3,399 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 (1.10 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.
Where people from Altus work
Where Altus clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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 Altus’ employers do
6,754 jobs are based in Altus.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Altus, 2013 → 2023: 7,090 → 6,754. 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.
In Altus, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Altus is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns, #54 of 131 in Oklahoma. Both inputs place Altus near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 8,725 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). 8.0% of Altus households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Altus’ commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000, and where Altus sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 360 | Newcastle OK | 15,198 | $93K | 3.8% | 2.8% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 936 | Glenpool OK | 14,705 | $80K | 11.0% | 3.3% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 969 | Mustang OK | 24,571 | $88K | 8.0% | 5.7% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,830 | Murray KY | 18,964 | $44K | 24.1% | 5.8% | 41% | D |
| 1,831 | Johnstown PA | 17,654 | $38K | 31.9% | 6.2% | 24% | D |
| 1,832 | Altus OK | 18,707 | $55K | 17.4% | 6.5% | 55% | D |
| 1,833 | Beeville TX | 13,086 | $51K | 22.1% | 5.1% | 30% | D |
| 1,834 | Prichard AL | 18,825 | $37K | 30.6% | 10.1% | 4% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Altus, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
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?
$55,295 (±$7,489) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Altus?
17.4%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Altus?
11 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Altus work?
55% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oklahoma City (8%, 116 mi), Lawton (6%, 50 mi), Elk City (2%, 51 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Altus walkable?
Altus is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Altus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% 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. 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.