Engels' Dry Goods Store · Photo: Melodibit · CC BY-SA 3.0For about half of its working residents, Luther is a commute to Oklahoma City
The trip to work takes 25 minutes on average (Oklahoma 22, U.S. 26). Jobs and income earn Luther B−; getting around on foot earns it D. Measured by household income, Luther is behind 86% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Luther: the gist
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Luther
On income, poverty and job access, Luther is better than 46% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Luther’s grade up (ahead of 67% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($51,827, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (1.7%) is left out: Luther’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, Luther could be anywhere from C to A−.
Where the trip to work from Luther ends
Where Luther clocks in
46% 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 Luther on a workday
On a workday 546 residents head out to work, 40 work right here, and 249 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Luther on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
The kinds of work in Luther
289 jobs are based in Luther.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Luther, 2013 → 2023: 238 → 289. 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 Luther’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Luther
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Luther workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 726 commuters (the 9% 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 Luther goes to work
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.
Most trips from Luther start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Luther is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.5% across Oklahoma.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 794 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.5% of Luther households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Luther’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300, Luther ranks 2,428th of 5,760 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 913 | Justice OK | 1,530 | $98K | 7.5% | 2.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,198 | Union City OK | 2,129 | $106K | 11.5% | 2.9% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,535 | Oologah OK | 1,358 | $80K | 9.4% | 7.6% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,426 | Byron CA | 1,837 | $76K | 15.4% | 18.2% | 3% | B− |
| 2,427 | French Lick IN | 1,772 | $55K | 10.1% | 0.5% | 38% | B− |
| 2,428 | Luther OK | 1,694 | $52K | 8.3% | 1.7% | 7% | B− |
| 2,429 | Bruce Township MI | 2,024 | $86K | 5.7% | 4.6% | 2% | B− |
| 2,430 | Middlebury NY | 1,315 | $86K | 8.2% | 3.8% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | 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 Luther, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
Bordering towns draw 46% of Luther’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Luther workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luther | – | B− | D | 25 min | $51,827 |
| Oklahoma City | 46% | B− | B+ | 22 min | $68,656 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Oklahoma City. Darker towns draw more of Luther’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 Luther: questions
What is the median household income in Luther?
$51,827 (±$20,867) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Luther?
8.3%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Luther?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Luther work?
7% work in town.
Is Luther walkable?
Luther is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Luther without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Luther, from the people who make the trip.
More of Luther
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.