Photo: Dick Man · Public domainHouseholds in Cleveland have lower incomes than those in 81% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Cleveland is better than 20% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (A−). Poverty touches 20.3% of residents, where Oklahoma as a whole has 15.3%. About one in five stay in Cleveland for work; outside it, Tulsa is the main destination (18%, 34 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Cleveland: the figures worth knowing
Cleveland’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Cleveland is Tulsa, 34 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (268) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Few Cleveland workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 9% across Oklahoma. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Cleveland
Unemployment holds Cleveland’s grade up (4.6%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Cleveland could be anywhere from D to C+.
The commute from Cleveland, by distance
About 26% 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.
Cleveland’s commute takes about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cleveland workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,358 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 a workday changes Cleveland
On a workday 1,177 residents head out to work, 280 work right here, and 851 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,900 people are in Cleveland on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 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 towns that employ Cleveland’s residents
Where Cleveland clocks in
18% of workers
9% of workers
3% 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 Cleveland: 1,131 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cleveland, 2013 → 2023: 914 → 1,131. 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 Cleveland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Cleveland is easy on foot, hard by bus
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.5% across Oklahoma, on an EPA index of 8.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,398 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). 4.8% of Cleveland households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Cleveland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Cleveland is 3,586th of 4,453 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Nichols Hills OK | 3,864 | $208K | 2.8% | 0.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | Goldsby OK | 3,591 | $103K | 11.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,293 | Kiefer OK | 2,310 | $83K | 10.4% | 3.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,584 | Jackson Township OH | 2,420 | $55K | 14.9% | 5.4% | 6% | C− |
| 3,585 | River Road NC | 3,366 | $46K | 22.3% | 2.5% | 3% | C− |
| 3,586 | Cleveland OK | 3,271 | $55K | 20.3% | 4.6% | 19% | C− |
| 3,587 | Portville NY | 3,359 | $66K | 10.4% | 7.6% | 12% | C− |
| 3,588 | Battle Mountain NV | 3,518 | $82K | 10.1% | 13.2% | 36% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Cleveland, 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 Cleveland: questions
What is the median household income in Cleveland?
$55,357 (±$9,030) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cleveland?
20.3%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cleveland?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cleveland work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tulsa (18%, 34 mi), Oklahoma City (9%, 82 mi), Sand Springs (3%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cleveland walkable?
Cleveland is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cleveland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cleveland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cleveland
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.