United States Post Office Watonga · Photo: Pigdogx · CC BY-SA 4.0More people are out of work in Watonga (13.5%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns. Watonga grades D− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 1% of workers, where Oklahoma as a whole has 9%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Watonga
Watonga’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Watonga is Oklahoma City, 56 miles away as the crow flies. 14% of working residents (156) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% 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 ↓
Few Watonga workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 9% across Oklahoma. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
Why Watonga gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Watonga is better than 3% of U.S. towns, #122 of 131 in Oklahoma. Household income holds Watonga’s grade up ($54,081, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Watonga could be anywhere from D− to D.
Watonga’s commute, mile by mile
About 41% 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.
The daily trip from Watonga: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watonga workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 894 commuters (the 1% 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.
Watonga quiets down on a workday
On a workday 902 residents head out to work, 243 work right here, and 564 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Watonga on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.70 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.
14% of working residents work in Oklahoma City
Where Watonga clocks in
14% 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 Watonga’s employers do
807 jobs are based in Watonga.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watonga, 2013 → 2023: 878 → 807. 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 Watonga’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Few in Watonga walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watonga is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #56 of 131 in Oklahoma. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% 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 902 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). 6.1% of Watonga households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Watonga’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Watonga sits among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,305 | Kiefer OK | 2,310 | $83K | 10.4% | 3.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,306 | Union City OK | 2,129 | $106K | 11.5% | 2.9% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,719 | Jones OK | 3,222 | $77K | 15.2% | 2.5% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,877 | Falmouth KY | 2,200 | $35K | 27.8% | 3.5% | 17% | D− |
| 4,878 | Biscoe NC | 1,887 | $45K | 34.9% | 3.1% | 9% | D− |
| 4,879 | Watonga OK | 2,594 | $54K | 19.2% | 13.5% | 21% | D− |
| 4,880 | Heavener OK | 3,070 | $34K | 33.0% | 6.0% | 28% | D− |
| 4,881 | Williston SC | 2,898 | $39K | 30.5% | 6.5% | 10% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Watonga, 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 Watonga: questions
What is the median household income in Watonga?
$54,081 (±$4,209) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watonga?
19.2%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watonga?
18 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watonga work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oklahoma City (14%, 56 mi), Okeene (4%, 19 mi), El Reno (4%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Watonga walkable?
Watonga is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watonga without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Watonga, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watonga
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.