With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Temple works elsewhere
Only 7% stay in Temple for work; outside it, Wichita Falls is the main destination (12%, 30 miles). Temple has 114 jobs; 304 of its residents have a job. For 2% of workers, the job is at home, where Oklahoma as a whole has 9%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Temple at work: what stands out
Fewer jobs are based in Temple than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Temple fell from 470 in 2013 to 114 in 2023, −76%. 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 ↓
Temple’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Temple is Wichita Falls, TX, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (35) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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; with 304 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs in Temple: what the 114 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Temple, 2013 → 2023: 470 → 114. 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 Temple’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Temple
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.
In and out of Temple on a workday
On a workday 284 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 94 people come in from elsewhere.
About 650 people are in Temple on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
Commuting out of Temple: the destinations
Where Temple clocks in
12% of workers
10% 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 Temple: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Temple workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 313 commuters (the 2% 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.
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 Temple: questions
What is the median household income in Temple?
$29,243 (±$3,308) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Temple?
30.8%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Temple?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Temple work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wichita Falls (12%, 30 mi), Lawton (10%, 26 mi), Oklahoma City (9%, 92 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Temple 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 Temple, from the people who make the trip.
More of Temple
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.