Ralston Opera House · Photo: TulGuy · CC BY 4.0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Ralston works elsewhere
Employers in Ralston report 14 jobs, against 104 working residents. Hardly any stay in Ralston for work; outside it, Pawnee is the main destination (13%, 11 miles). Commuters spend 29 minutes getting to work on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Ralston
On a workday 104 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 14 people come in from elsewhere.
About 190 people are in Ralston on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Ralston commutes to
Where Ralston clocks in
13% of workers
13% of workers
12% 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.
86% of the jobs in Ralston pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ralston, 2013 → 2023: 47 → 14. 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 Ralston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Ralston: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ralston workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 127 commuters (the 4% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Ralston
About 40% 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.
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 Ralston: questions
What is the median household income in Ralston?
$49,821 (±$26,100) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ralston?
19.5%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ralston?
29 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ralston work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pawnee (13%, 11 mi), Stillwater (13%, 32 mi), Oklahoma City (12%, 84 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ralston 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 Ralston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ralston
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.