Photo: Uyvsdi · Public domainHousehold incomes in Park Hill trail those of 91% of U.S. towns
23.7% of residents are in poverty, against 15.3% across Oklahoma. Park Hill grades D for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 2% stay in Park Hill for work; outside it, Tahlequah is the main destination (30%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Park Hill in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Park Hill than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Park Hill fell from 485 in 2013 to 270 in 2023, −44%. 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 ↓
A lot of Park Hill works one town over
33% of working residents work in a town that borders Park Hill: Tahlequah (30%) and Keys (3%). Next door ↓
Park Hill is a place people come home to
There are 270 jobs based in Park Hill, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Park Hill has about 2,200 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Park Hill
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Park Hill is better than 5% of U.S. towns, #114 of 131 in Oklahoma. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Park Hill’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Park Hill could be anywhere from D− to C.
66% of the jobs in Park Hill make or build things
270 jobs are based in Park Hill.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Park Hill, 2013 → 2023: 485 → 270. 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 Park Hill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Park Hill, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,250 residents head out to work, 24 work right here, and 246 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Park Hill on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
Out of Park Hill to work: where people go
Where Park Hill clocks in
30% of workers
9% of workers
9% 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 trip to work from Park Hill: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Park Hill workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,142 commuters (the 16% 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 Park Hill goes to work
About 31% 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.
Most trips from Park Hill start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Park Hill is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns, #100 of 131 in Oklahoma. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.5% across Oklahoma, on an EPA index of 5.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,360 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). 7.8% of Park Hill households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Park Hill’s commuters take a bus or train.
Park Hill and other U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Nichols Hills OK | 3,864 | $208K | 2.8% | 0.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | Goldsby OK | 3,591 | $103K | 11.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,293 | Kiefer OK | 2,310 | $83K | 10.4% | 3.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,207 | Harrison ME | 2,639 | $57K | 19.1% | 8.0% | 8% | D |
| 4,208 | Window Rock AZ | 2,477 | $56K | 24.9% | 8.6% | 1% | D |
| 4,209 | Park Hill OK | 3,237 | $47K | 23.7% | 7.5% | 2% | D |
| 4,210 | Loogootee IN | 2,633 | $50K | 26.4% | 8.5% | 16% | D |
| 4,211 | Charlevoix MI | 2,325 | $48K | 24.8% | 7.1% | 29% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Park Hill, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
Next door is work for 33% of Park Hill
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Park Hill workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Hill | – | D | C+ | 23 min | $47,064 |
| Zeb | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Keys | 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Etta | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Welling | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Tahlequah | 30% | D | A− | 17 min | $49,581 |
| Woodall | under 2% | D | B− | 25 min | $58,571 |
Same-state neighbors only. Zeb, Keys, Etta and Welling: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tahlequah. Darker towns draw more of Park Hill’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 Park Hill: questions
What is the median household income in Park Hill?
$47,064 (±$14,627) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Park Hill?
23.7%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Park Hill?
23 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Park Hill work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tahlequah (30%, 5 mi), Tulsa (9%, 56 mi), Muskogee (9%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Park Hill walkable?
Park Hill is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Park Hill without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Park Hill, from the people who make the trip.
More of Park Hill
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.