Skullyville County Jail · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Panama have lower incomes than those in 91% of U.S. towns
29.0% of residents are in poverty, where Oklahoma as a whole has 15.3%. Panama grades D for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 2% stay in Panama for work; outside it, Poteau is the main destination (16%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Panama, in a few figures
Panama and Poteau trade workers both ways
Poteau is the top workplace for Panama residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Panama come from (22% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Panama is a place people come home to
There are 77 jobs based in Panama, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
A lot of Panama workers cross into Arkansas
24% of Panama workers work outside Oklahoma, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Fort Smith (15%) is one of the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
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; with 365 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Panama
On income, poverty and job access, Panama is better than 6% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Panama’s grade up (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
Unemployment (6.2%) is left out: Panama’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Panama could be anywhere from D− to D.
Where Panama goes to work
Where Panama clocks in
16% of workers
15% 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.
Panama on a workday afternoon
On a workday 359 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 71 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Panama on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
0.21 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.
Jobs in Panama: what the 77 are
77 jobs are based in Panama.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Panama, 2013 → 2023: 174 → 77. 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 Panama’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Panama: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Panama workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 495 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.
How many miles Panama commutes
About 30% 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.
Getting around Panama: mostly by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 537 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). 9.0% of Panama households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Panama’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Panama is 4,825th of 5,400 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Forest Park OK | 1,035 | $104K | 0.4% | 1.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 734 | Justice OK | 1,530 | $98K | 7.5% | 2.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,286 | Oologah OK | 1,358 | $80K | 9.4% | 7.6% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,823 | Leadwood MO | 1,158 | $45K | 36.0% | 2.7% | 1% | D |
| 4,824 | Peebles OH | 1,777 | $63K | 24.2% | 14.4% | 8% | D |
| 4,825 | Panama OK | 1,314 | $47K | 29.0% | 6.2% | 2% | D |
| 4,826 | Emporium PA | 1,781 | $43K | 14.6% | 8.2% | 37% | D |
| 4,827 | Dovesville SC | 1,120 | $32K | 52.9% | 5.0% | <1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Panama, 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 Panama: questions
What is the median household income in Panama?
$47,136 (±$14,509) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Panama?
29.0%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Panama?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Panama work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Poteau (16%, 8 mi), Fort Smith (15%, 21 mi), Bokoshe (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Panama walkable?
Panama is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Panama without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Panama, from the people who make the trip.
More of Panama
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.