Photo: Jordanmac at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.5Tulsa draws more than half of Broken Arrow’s working residents
Broken Arrow grades B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in seven stay in Broken Arrow for work; outside it, Tulsa is the main destination (52%, 9 miles). The average commute takes 22 minutes each way (Oklahoma 22, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Broken Arrow apart
Income, poverty and work: Broken Arrow’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Broken Arrow is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #12 of 131 in Oklahoma. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Broken Arrow could be anywhere from B to A−.
Where people from Broken Arrow work
Where Broken Arrow clocks in
52% of workers
5% 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.
Broken Arrow quiets down on a workday
On a workday 44,585 residents head out to work, 8,943 work right here, and 27,566 people come in from elsewhere.
About 108,000 people are in Broken Arrow on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.68 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.
The 36,509 jobs based in Broken Arrow
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Broken Arrow, 2013 → 2023: 28,763 → 36,509. 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 Broken Arrow’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Broken Arrow: about 22 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Broken Arrow workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 51,567 commuters (the 11% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Broken Arrow
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.
In Broken Arrow, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Broken Arrow is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #91 of 131 in Oklahoma. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.5% across Oklahoma.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 58,220 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 21% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 49% 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). 2.4% of Broken Arrow households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Broken Arrow’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 87,000 to 169,000, Broken Arrow ranks 118th of 324 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Edmond OK | 100,479 | $103K | 8.1% | 3.3% | 21% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Clifton NJ | 91,127 | $98K | 7.9% | 7.1% | 10% | B+ |
| 117 | Hayward CA | 157,113 | $113K | 9.6% | 6.3% | 13% | B+ |
| 118 | Broken Arrow OK | 124,991 | $87K | 8.8% | 4.2% | 17% | B+ |
| 119 | Murrieta CA | 114,124 | $114K | 5.4% | 6.8% | 13% | B+ |
| 120 | Chino CA | 96,957 | $105K | 8.0% | 6.5% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 250 | Norman OK | 130,943 | $68K | 16.8% | 5.7% | 31% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 323 | Lawton OK | 90,503 | $54K | 21.1% | 8.1% | 55% | D |
| 324 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Broken Arrow, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
54% of Broken Arrow works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Broken Arrow workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broken Arrow | – | B+ | B− | 22 min | $86,765 |
| Tulsa | 52% | C | A− | 19 min | $59,838 |
| Bixby | 2% | A− | B− | 24 min | $104,404 |
| Coweta | under 1% | B− | B− | 27 min | $67,519 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tulsa. Darker towns draw more of Broken Arrow’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 Broken Arrow: questions
What is the median household income in Broken Arrow?
$86,765 (±$2,441) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Broken Arrow?
8.8%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Broken Arrow?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Broken Arrow work?
17% work in town.
Is Broken Arrow walkable?
Broken Arrow is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Broken Arrow without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Broken Arrow, from the people who make the trip.
More of Broken Arrow
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.