Work and commuting in Dry Creek
Dry Creek has 84 jobs, against 71 working residents. Only 1% work in Dry Creek itself; outside it, Tahlequah draws the most (13%, 13 miles). The trip to work takes 30 minutes on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Dry Creek on a workday afternoon
On a workday 70 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 83 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 (1.18 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The places Dry Creek commutes to
Where Dry Creek clocks in
13% of workers
8% of workers
8% 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.
Dry Creek makes things: 83% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dry Creek, 2014 → 2024: 69 → 84. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Dry Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Dry Creek, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dry Creek workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 63 commuters (the 12% 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 commute from Dry Creek, by distance
About 39% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Dry Creek and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dry Creek workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Creek | – | — | — | 30 min | $40,500 |
| Cookson | under 3% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Barber | under 3% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Cookson and Barber: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dry Creek’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 2024, 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 Dry Creek: questions
What is the median household income in Dry Creek?
$40,500 (±$21,709) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dry Creek?
19.7%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dry Creek?
30 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dry Creek work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tahlequah (13%, 13 mi), Stilwell (8%, 15 mi), Tulsa (8%, 64 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Dry Creek without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dry Creek, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dry Creek
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.