Making a living in Cave Spring
Hardly any work in Cave Spring itself; outside it, Stilwell draws the most (37%, 9 miles). 3% of workers have no commute at all, next to 9% for Oklahoma as a whole. The average commute takes 48 minutes each way, where Oklahoma has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Cave Spring by day and by night
On a workday 27 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 38 people come in from elsewhere.
About 71 people are in Cave Spring on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 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.
The places Cave Spring commutes to
Where Cave Spring clocks in
37% of workers
11% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Cave Spring
38 jobs are based in Cave Spring.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cave Spring, 2013 → 2023: 32 → 38. 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 Cave Spring’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 48 minutes each way for Cave Spring’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 15.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cave Spring workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 31 commuters (the 3% 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.
How far it is to work from Cave Spring
About 22% 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.
The towns around Cave Spring
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cave Spring workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cave Spring | – | — | — | 48 min | $69,250 |
| Bunch | under 4% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bunch: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cave Spring’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.
- Two counts of out-of-state work. The Census survey asks workers where they work: 0% of Cave Spring workers work outside Oklahoma. The job records count 15% at employers in other states. The records use the address the employer reports and skip the self-employed, so the two can differ.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Cave Spring: questions
What is the median household income in Cave Spring?
$69,250 (±$42,567) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cave Spring?
15.0%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cave Spring?
48 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cave Spring work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stilwell (37%, 9 mi), Tahlequah (11%, 18 mi), Siloam Springs (7%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Cave Spring without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cave Spring, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cave Spring
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.