Photo: Stugarrett · CC BY-SA 4.0Nowata’s household incomes are lower than in 90% of U.S. towns
25.5% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 15.3% for Oklahoma as a whole. Nowata grades D− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About one in four work in Nowata; the top destination outside it is Bartlesville (15%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Nowata
Nowata trades workers with the towns around it
Nowata has about as many jobs (1,325) as working residents (1,347), but they are mostly different people: 1,003 residents leave for work each day while 981 people come in. Only 26% of the jobs in Nowata are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Nowata 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.
Jobs & income in Nowata: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Nowata is better than 4% of U.S. towns, #119 of 131 in Oklahoma. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Nowata’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Nowata could be anywhere from D− to C−.
The daily flow of workers through Nowata
On a workday 1,003 residents head out to work, 344 work right here, and 981 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 (0.98 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.
How long Nowata spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nowata workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,217 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.
Where Nowata goes to work
Where Nowata clocks in
15% of workers
13% of workers
4% 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.
The kinds of work in Nowata
1,325 jobs are based in Nowata.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nowata, 2013 → 2023: 1,221 → 1,325. 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 Nowata’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Nowata commutes
About 17% 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.
In Nowata, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Nowata is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns, #83 of 131 in Oklahoma. Both inputs place Nowata 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 1,327 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). 5.7% of Nowata households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Nowata’s commuters take a bus or train.
Nowata next to U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Nichols Hills OK | 3,864 | $208K | 2.8% | 0.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 976 | Goldsby OK | 3,591 | $103K | 11.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,687 | Jones OK | 3,222 | $77K | 15.2% | 2.5% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,190 | Tri-City OR | 4,234 | $55K | 27.5% | 8.8% | 6% | D− |
| 4,191 | Elba AL | 3,408 | $45K | 23.8% | 8.3% | 17% | D− |
| 4,192 | Nowata OK | 3,584 | $48K | 25.5% | 7.8% | 26% | D− |
| 4,193 | Waverly TN | 4,430 | $44K | 16.2% | 14.1% | 18% | D− |
| 4,194 | Cotton Hill Township MO | 4,700 | $47K | 25.0% | 7.8% | 20% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | 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 Nowata, 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 Nowata: questions
What is the median household income in Nowata?
$47,776 (±$12,312) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nowata?
25.5%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nowata?
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 Nowata work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bartlesville (15%, 17 mi), Tulsa (13%, 42 mi), Oklahoma City (4%, 135 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Nowata walkable?
Nowata is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nowata without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nowata, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nowata
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.