Helena has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.6 for each
There are 226 jobs in Helena; 398 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Helena D. 1% of workers work from home, against 9% across Oklahoma.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Helena stands out on work
Helena’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Helena is Oklahoma City, 86 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (55) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
50% 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; with 398 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Helena: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Helena is better than 14% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Helena’s grade up (12.0%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (8.7%) is left out: Helena’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Helena could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Near or far: the trip to work from Helena
About 50% 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 daily flow of workers through Helena
On a workday 356 residents head out to work, 42 work right here, and 184 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Helena on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
14% of working residents work in Oklahoma City
Where Helena clocks in
14% of workers
13% of workers
4% 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 Helena’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Helena, 2013 → 2023: 219 → 226. 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 Helena’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Helena: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Helena workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 114 commuters (the 1% 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.
Ranked on jobs and income, Helena is 4,452nd among 5,794 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 859 | Justice OK | 1,530 | $98K | 7.5% | 2.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,475 | Oologah OK | 1,358 | $80K | 9.4% | 7.6% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,931 | Okarche OK | 1,196 | $94K | 11.8% | 0.8% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,450 | Hampton TN | 1,883 | $39K | 19.9% | 2.9% | 2% | D |
| 4,451 | Leon IA | 1,773 | $54K | 10.7% | 0.8% | 22% | D |
| 4,452 | Helena OK | 1,527 | $62K | 12.0% | 8.7% | 11% | D |
| 4,453 | Wysox Township PA | 1,545 | $60K | 13.0% | 7.8% | 12% | D |
| 4,454 | Jackson WI | 1,183 | $60K | 15.9% | 5.3% | 1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,794 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Helena, 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 Helena: questions
What is the median household income in Helena?
$61,500 (±$13,974) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Helena?
12.0%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Helena?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Helena work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oklahoma City (14%, 86 mi), Enid (13%, 24 mi), Cherokee (4%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Helena without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Helena, from the people who make the trip.
More of Helena
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.