Photo: Bernardgeorgeh · CC BY-SA 4.0Roland’s household incomes are lower than in 86% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 18.2% of residents, against 15.3% across Oklahoma. For jobs and income Roland is better than 35% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (B−). About one in ten work in Roland itself; outside it, Fort Smith draws the most (35%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Roland and work: the main findings
Many Roland workers cross into Arkansas
55% of Roland workers work outside Oklahoma, most of them in Arkansas, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
50% of the jobs in Roland are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Roland has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Roland went from 621 in 2013 to 974 in 2023, +57%. The jobs ↓
Roland and Fort Smith trade workers both ways
Fort Smith is the top workplace for Roland residents (35%) and also where the most people who work in Roland come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Roland
48% of Roland residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 25% of the jobs based in Roland pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. 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.
Why Roland gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Unemployment holds Roland’s grade up (3.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($51,754, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Roland could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Commuting out of Roland: the destinations
Where Roland clocks in
35% of workers
4% 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 Roland: 974 jobs
974 jobs are based in Roland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Roland, 2013 → 2023: 621 → 974. 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 Roland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Roland by day
On a workday 1,312 residents head out to work, 131 work right here, and 843 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,700 people are in Roland on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
Time on the road from Roland: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Roland workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,565 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.
The distance from Roland to work
About 26% 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.
For most of Roland, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,619 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). 5.2% of Roland households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Roland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Roland places 2,748th of 4,112 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Nichols Hills OK | 3,864 | $208K | 2.8% | 0.3% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 980 | Goldsby OK | 3,591 | $103K | 11.2% | 2.4% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,676 | Jones OK | 3,222 | $77K | 15.2% | 2.5% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,746 | Fairfield Harbour NC | 2,948 | $73K | 7.1% | 4.5% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,747 | Kodiak AK | 5,281 | $90K | 7.5% | 8.3% | — | C+ |
| 2,748 | Roland OK | 4,146 | $52K | 18.2% | 3.0% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,749 | Ross Township PA | 5,519 | $64K | 7.3% | 7.8% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,750 | Port Vue PA | 3,519 | $58K | 10.1% | 11.1% | 2% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | 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 Roland, the top three, the last and three more from Oklahoma.
Around Roland: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Roland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roland | – | C+ | B− | 21 min | $51,754 |
| Moffett | under 2% | — | — | 10 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Moffett: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Roland’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 Roland: questions
What is the median household income in Roland?
$51,754 (±$6,111) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Roland?
18.2%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Roland?
21 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Roland work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Smith (35%, 9 mi), Van Buren (4%, 9 mi), Sallisaw (4%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Roland walkable?
Roland is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Roland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Roland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Roland
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.