More than half of Lone Grove’s working residents commute to Ardmore
Working residents average 20 minutes each way, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. Lone Grove grades B− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 3% stay in Lone Grove for work; outside it, Ardmore is the main destination (54%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lone Grove and work: the main findings
More than half of Lone Grove works in Ardmore
1,145 working residents, 54%, have their main job in Ardmore, 7 miles away. That’s 18 times as many as work in Lone Grove itself. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Lone Grove than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Lone Grove fell from 1,073 in 2013 to 537 in 2023, −50%. 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 ↓
Lone Grove is a place people come home to
There are 537 jobs based in Lone Grove, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Lone Grove has about 3,700 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lone Grove
57% of Lone Grove residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Lone Grove pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Lone Grove pay little
28% of the jobs based in Lone Grove pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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.
Inside Lone Grove’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lone Grove is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #29 of 131 in Oklahoma. Unemployment holds Lone Grove’s grade up (1.9%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.4%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lone Grove could be anywhere from C to B+.
Where Lone Grove’s working residents head each day
Where Lone Grove clocks in
54% 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 Lone Grove, 33% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
537 jobs are based in Lone Grove.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lone Grove, 2013 → 2023: 1,073 → 537. 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 Lone Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Lone Grove by day
On a workday 2,034 residents head out to work, 70 work right here, and 467 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,700 people are in Lone Grove on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.26 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
How long Lone Grove spends getting to work: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lone Grove workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,285 commuters (the 4% 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.
Lone Grove’s commute, mile by mile
About 26% 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.
Few in Lone Grove walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lone Grove is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns, #114 of 131 in Oklahoma. Both inputs place Lone Grove 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 2,381 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). 3.1% of Lone Grove households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lone Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Lone Grove ranks: 1,998th of 3,582 U.S. towns of 3,700 to 7,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Nichols Hills OK | 3,864 | $208K | 2.8% | 0.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 745 | Verdigris OK | 5,888 | $84K | 6.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,850 | McLoud OK | 4,564 | $63K | 18.0% | 1.5% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,996 | Middlebury IN | 3,752 | $75K | 14.6% | 4.0% | 20% | B− |
| 1,997 | Boonville IN | 6,689 | $64K | 13.4% | 2.6% | 17% | B− |
| 1,998 | Lone Grove OK | 5,244 | $74K | 14.4% | 1.9% | 3% | B− |
| 1,999 | Reno Township KS | 4,360 | $60K | 12.4% | 1.6% | 10% | B− |
| 2,000 | Montague Township NJ | 3,896 | $101K | 8.8% | 5.5% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,582 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Lone Grove, 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 Lone Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Lone Grove?
$74,265 (±$7,357) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lone Grove?
14.4%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lone Grove?
20 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lone Grove work?
3% work in town.
Is Lone Grove walkable?
Lone Grove is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lone Grove without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lone Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lone Grove
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.