Photo: Aykleinman · Public domainUnemployment in Duncan (6.8%) is higher than in 81% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Duncan is better than 14% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (B). Measured by household income, Duncan is behind 77% of U.S. towns. About half stay in Duncan for work; outside it, Oklahoma City is the main destination (11%, 73 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Duncan, in a few figures
Duncan’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Duncan is Oklahoma City, 73 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (1,020) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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.
The figures behind Duncan’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Duncan’s grade up (ahead of 38% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (20.5%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Duncan could be anywhere from D to C−.
The commute from Duncan, by distance
About 31% 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.
Who leaves Duncan for work, and who comes in
On a workday 4,831 residents head out to work, 4,143 work right here, and 6,694 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 (1.21 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 Duncan’s working residents head each day
Where Duncan clocks in
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.
Inside Duncan’s 10,837 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Duncan, 2013 → 2023: 10,455 → 10,837. 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 Duncan’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 22 minutes from Duncan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Duncan workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,603 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.
For most of Duncan, work means a drive
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 9,082 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). 7.8% of Duncan households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Duncan’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000, and where Duncan sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 344 | Jenks OK | 28,175 | $111K | 6.8% | 2.6% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 867 | Yukon OK | 27,615 | $75K | 8.8% | 4.0% | 10% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 907 | Mustang OK | 24,571 | $88K | 8.0% | 5.7% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,641 | Gallup NM | 19,969 | $58K | 26.8% | 5.7% | 63% | D |
| 1,642 | Lumberton NC | 18,955 | $43K | 30.8% | 5.6% | 34% | D |
| 1,643 | Duncan OK | 23,238 | $58K | 20.5% | 6.8% | 46% | D |
| 1,644 | Rolla MO | 20,588 | $46K | 23.6% | 4.6% | 39% | D |
| 1,645 | Steubenville OH | 17,922 | $48K | 26.6% | 5.3% | 33% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | 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 Duncan, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
Duncan and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Marlow (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Duncan workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duncan | – | D | B | 22 min | $58,054 |
| Empire City | under 1% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Marlow | 4% | C | B | 22 min | $56,655 |
| Bray | under 1% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Empire City and Bray: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Duncan’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 Duncan: questions
What is the median household income in Duncan?
$58,054 (±$3,784) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Duncan?
20.5%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Duncan?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Duncan work?
46% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oklahoma City (11%, 73 mi), Lawton (7%, 28 mi), Marlow (4%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Duncan walkable?
Duncan is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Duncan without a car?
<1% 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 Duncan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Duncan
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.