Photo: Crimsonedge34 · CC BY-SA 3.0At 8.1%, unemployment in Lawton is higher than in 88% of U.S. towns
More than half stay in Lawton for work; outside it, Oklahoma City is the main destination (13%, 78 miles). The two grades for Lawton are D for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Measured by household income, Lawton is behind 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Lawton in brief
Lawton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lawton is Oklahoma City, 78 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (3,585) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Lawton go to people who live here
Of the 30,585 jobs based in Lawton, 52% are held by Lawton residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Lawton are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 22 across Oklahoma. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Oklahoma worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Lawton workers earn over $40,000 a year
42% of Lawton’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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.
How Lawton earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lawton is better than 15% of U.S. towns, #83 of 131 in Oklahoma. Job access by car holds Lawton’s grade up (ahead of 55% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lawton could be anywhere from D to C−.
Near or far: the trip to work from Lawton
About 35% 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.
Lawton by day and by night
On a workday 12,717 residents head out to work, 15,788 work right here, and 14,797 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 (1.07 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.
The daily trip from Lawton: about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lawton workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 35,370 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.
Inside Lawton’s 30,585 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lawton, 2013 → 2023: 29,985 → 30,585. 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 Lawton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Lawton’s working residents head each day
Where Lawton clocks in
13% of workers
2% 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.
Getting around Lawton: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lawton is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #35 of 131 in Oklahoma. Both inputs place Lawton 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 40,185 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). 9.9% of Lawton households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Lawton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lawton next to U.S. towns of 63,000 to 122,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 129 | Edmond OK | 100,479 | $103K | 8.1% | 3.3% | 21% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 276 | Moore OK | 63,609 | $80K | 11.4% | 4.7% | 11% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 497 | Reading PA | 95,832 | $44K | 28.7% | 13.7% | 15% | C− |
| 498 | Porterville CA | 63,088 | $60K | 17.3% | 10.1% | 31% | C− |
| 499 | Lawton OK | 90,503 | $54K | 21.1% | 8.1% | 55% | D |
| 500 | Gulfport MS | 76,506 | $50K | 22.8% | 9.1% | 42% | D |
| 501 | Flint MI | 79,306 | $38K | 34.1% | 14.8% | 20% | D |
| 502 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Lawton, 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 Lawton: questions
What is the median household income in Lawton?
$54,433 (±$1,550) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lawton?
21.1%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lawton?
16 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lawton work?
55% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oklahoma City (13%, 78 mi), Norman (2%, 75 mi), Tulsa (2%, 176 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lawton walkable?
Lawton is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lawton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lawton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lawton
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.