Household incomes in Inola are lower than in 76% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Inola B−; getting around on foot earns it B−. Below the poverty line: 9.0% of residents (Oklahoma 15.3%). About one in ten work in Inola itself; outside it, Tulsa draws the most (30%, 20 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Inola apart on work
30% of Inola works in Tulsa
242 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Tulsa, 20 miles away. That’s 3 times as many as work in Inola itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Inola
61% of Inola residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Inola pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 89% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Inola workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 27 minutes each way, against 22 across Oklahoma. Over a year that’s about 207 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. 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; with 794 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Inola’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Inola is better than 46% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Inola’s grade up (ahead of 63% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($58,558, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (8.0%) is left out: Inola’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Inola could be anywhere from C to B.
The places Inola commutes to
Where Inola clocks in
30% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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 the 638 jobs in Inola are
638 jobs are based in Inola.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Inola, 2013 → 2023: 560 → 638. 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 Inola’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 27 minutes from Inola
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Inola workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 835 commuters (the 8% 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.
Who leaves Inola for work, and who comes in
On a workday 707 residents head out to work, 87 work right here, and 551 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 (0.80 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.
Half of Inola commutes less than 20 miles
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.
Inola is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Inola is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Inola near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 911 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). 5.2% of Inola households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Inola’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,421st of 5,656: where Inola ranks among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 936 | Justice OK | 1,530 | $98K | 7.5% | 2.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,235 | Kiefer OK | 2,310 | $83K | 10.4% | 3.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,236 | Union City OK | 2,129 | $106K | 11.5% | 2.9% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,419 | Pine Plains NY | 2,307 | $102K | 9.3% | 5.4% | 18% | B− |
| 2,420 | Lake Isabella MI | 1,952 | $78K | 5.8% | 6.2% | 1% | B− |
| 2,421 | Inola OK | 1,888 | $59K | 9.0% | 8.0% | 11% | B− |
| 2,422 | Wayne Township IN | 1,729 | $64K | 11.4% | 1.2% | 2% | B− |
| 2,423 | Middlesex NY | 1,349 | $76K | 5.8% | 2.2% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | 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 Inola, 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 Inola: questions
What is the median household income in Inola?
$58,558 (±$5,125) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Inola?
9.0%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Inola?
27 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Inola work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tulsa (30%, 20 mi), Oklahoma City (6%, 119 mi), Claremore (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Inola walkable?
Inola is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Inola without a car?
<1% 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 Inola, from the people who make the trip.
More of Inola
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.