With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Kiefer works elsewhere
Only 1% work in Kiefer itself; outside it, Tulsa draws the most (33%, 15 miles). 248 jobs are based in Kiefer; 1,012 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Kiefer are B+ for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Kiefer: the gist
Fewer jobs are based in Kiefer than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Kiefer fell from 428 in 2013 to 248 in 2023, −42%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Kiefer and Tulsa trade workers both ways
Tulsa is the top workplace for Kiefer residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Kiefer come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Kiefer is a place people come home to
There are 248 jobs based in Kiefer, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Kiefer has about 1,500 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Where Kiefer’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kiefer is better than 69% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Kiefer’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (10.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kiefer could be anywhere from B− to A.
Kiefer works in goods: 55% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kiefer, 2013 → 2023: 428 → 248. 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 Kiefer’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of Kiefer: the destinations
Where Kiefer clocks in
33% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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.
In and out of Kiefer on a workday
On a workday 997 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 233 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Kiefer on a workday afternoon, 33% 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.
Time on the road from Kiefer: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kiefer workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,187 commuters (the 11% 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 far Kiefer’s workers travel
About 22% 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.
Driving is how Kiefer gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kiefer is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Kiefer 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 1,330 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). 0.9% of Kiefer households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Kiefer’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Kiefer is 1,279th of 5,328 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,277 | Conway MA | 1,750 | $97K | 4.4% | 2.4% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,278 | Miami Township OH | 2,130 | $74K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,279 | Kiefer OK | 2,310 | $83K | 10.4% | 3.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,280 | Union City OK | 2,129 | $106K | 11.5% | 2.9% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,281 | Lomira WI | 2,686 | $70K | 8.9% | 1.9% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,377 | Norwood OK | 1,752 | $89K | 8.2% | 0.0% | <1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,450 | Nicoma Park OK | 2,294 | $62K | 17.8% | 3.5% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,481 | Inola OK | 1,888 | $59K | 9.0% | 8.0% | 11% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Kiefer, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
Next door to Kiefer
The biggest share goes to Sapulpa (5%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Kiefer’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 Kiefer: questions
What is the median household income in Kiefer?
$83,317 (±$5,106) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kiefer?
10.4%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kiefer?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kiefer work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tulsa (33%, 15 mi), Oklahoma City (9%, 88 mi), Sapulpa (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kiefer walkable?
Kiefer is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kiefer without a car?
<1% 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 Kiefer, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kiefer
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.