Tulsa draws about half of Owasso’s working residents
About one in seven work in Owasso itself; outside it, Tulsa draws the most (45%, 12 miles). For jobs and income Owasso is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (B−). The average commute takes 22 minutes each way, where Oklahoma has 22 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Owasso, in a few figures
Nearly half of Owasso works in Tulsa
7,493 working residents, 45%, have their main job in Tulsa, 12 miles away. That’s 3 times as many as work in Owasso itself. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Owasso
61% of Owasso residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Owasso pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 86% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Owasso has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Owasso went from 9,176 in 2013 to 12,566 in 2023, +37%. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
34% of the jobs based in Owasso are held by workers 29 or younger, against 24% of Owasso’s own working residents. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Owasso
Job access by car holds Owasso’s grade up (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Owasso could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Where people from Owasso work
Where Owasso clocks in
45% of workers
5% 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.
What work there is in Owasso: 12,566 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Owasso, 2013 → 2023: 9,176 → 12,566. 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 Owasso’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Owasso quiets down on a workday
On a workday 14,409 residents head out to work, 2,331 work right here, and 10,235 people come in from elsewhere.
About 39,000 people are in Owasso on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.75 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.
From Owasso, about 22 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Owasso workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,960 commuters (the 13% 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 many miles Owasso commutes
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 of Owasso commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of 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 20,610 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). 3.5% of Owasso households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Owasso’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Owasso is 579th of 1,011 U.S. towns of 30,000 to 58,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 289 | Bixby OK | 32,766 | $104K | 5.6% | 3.7% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 577 | Dunedin FL | 35,227 | $74K | 8.2% | 5.1% | 11% | B |
| 578 | Concord NH | 44,597 | $85K | 8.9% | 4.1% | 36% | B |
| 579 | Owasso OK | 43,117 | $79K | 7.3% | 5.4% | 14% | B |
| 580 | Lake Magdalene FL | 32,083 | $76K | 13.0% | 3.6% | 4% | B |
| 581 | Center Township IN | 47,315 | $80K | 11.0% | 3.6% | 27% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 863 | Stillwater OK | 50,046 | $44K | 27.4% | 6.4% | 48% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 896 | Enid OK | 50,297 | $62K | 13.7% | 5.3% | 57% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,011 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Owasso, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
Owasso and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Collinsville (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Owasso workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owasso | – | B | B− | 22 min | $79,036 |
| Collinsville | 1% | B+ | C | 24 min | $90,570 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Owasso’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 Owasso: questions
What is the median household income in Owasso?
$79,036 (±$4,191) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Owasso?
7.3%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Owasso?
22 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Owasso work?
14% work in town.
Is Owasso walkable?
Owasso is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Owasso without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Owasso, from the people who make the trip.
More of Owasso
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.