Photo: Reservoirhill at English Wikipedia · Public domainAt 6.9%, unemployment in Ponca City is higher than in 82% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Ponca City are D for jobs and income and B− for walkability. About two in five work in Ponca City; the top destination outside it is Oklahoma City (9%, 90 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ponca City and work: the main findings
Ponca City’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Ponca City is Oklahoma City, 90 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (841) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Most jobs in Ponca City go to people who live here
Of the 7,892 jobs based in Ponca City, 45% are held by Ponca City residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Ponca City are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 22 across Oklahoma. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Oklahoma worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 Ponca City: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ponca City is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #90 of 131 in Oklahoma. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Ponca City’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ponca City could be anywhere from D to C−.
Where in the region Ponca City works
About 32% 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.
Ponca City on a workday afternoon
On a workday 5,393 residents head out to work, 3,512 work right here, and 4,380 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 (0.89 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.
Getting to work from Ponca City takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ponca City workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,820 commuters (the 3% 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 the trip to work from Ponca City ends
Where Ponca City clocks in
9% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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 Ponca City
7,892 jobs are based in Ponca City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ponca City, 2013 → 2023: 8,295 → 7,892. 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 Ponca City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Ponca City: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ponca City is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #89 of 131 in Oklahoma. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 10,165 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). 7.4% of Ponca City households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ponca City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Ponca City sits among U.S. towns of 17,000 to 33,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 330 | Jenks OK | 28,175 | $111K | 6.8% | 2.6% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 471 | Bixby OK | 32,766 | $104K | 5.6% | 3.7% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 836 | Yukon OK | 27,615 | $75K | 8.8% | 4.0% | 10% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,591 | Texarkana AR | 29,123 | $46K | 25.8% | 7.5% | 27% | D |
| 1,592 | Chaparral NM | 18,186 | $46K | 27.4% | 6.3% | 7% | D |
| 1,593 | Ponca City OK | 24,225 | $56K | 17.9% | 6.9% | 39% | D |
| 1,594 | Parkersburg WV | 28,593 | $49K | 22.5% | 7.9% | 36% | D |
| 1,595 | Carbondale IL | 21,811 | $32K | 37.4% | 10.4% | 40% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,642 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Ponca City, 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 Ponca City: questions
What is the median household income in Ponca City?
$55,941 (±$4,137) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ponca City?
17.9%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ponca City?
16 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ponca City work?
39% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oklahoma City (9%, 90 mi), Tulsa (3%, 77 mi), Stillwater (3%, 41 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ponca City walkable?
Ponca City is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ponca City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ponca City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ponca City
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.