Photo: Crimsonedge34 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Waurika trail those of 92% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Waurika is better than 2% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (B+). The poverty rate is 28.1%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma. About one in four stay in Waurika for work; outside it, Duncan is the main destination (19%, 21 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Waurika
Many jobs in Waurika pay little
37% of the jobs based in Waurika pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Waurika than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Waurika fell from 695 in 2013 to 445 in 2023, −36%. 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 ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Waurika
43% of Waurika residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 23% of the jobs based in Waurika pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 74% 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; with 689 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Waurika’s Jobs & income grade comes from
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Waurika’s grade.
Unemployment (7.4%) is left out: Waurika’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Waurika stays D−.
What work there is in Waurika: 445 jobs
445 jobs are based in Waurika.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waurika, 2013 → 2023: 695 → 445. 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 Waurika’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Waurika quiets down on a workday
On a workday 507 residents head out to work, 182 work right here, and 263 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Waurika on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
Where the trip to work from Waurika ends
Where Waurika clocks in
19% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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 daily trip from Waurika: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waurika workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 666 commuters (the 6% 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.
Half of Waurika commutes less than 25 miles
About 29% 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 commute in Waurika is mostly behind the wheel
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 2.5% across Oklahoma, on an EPA index of 7.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 710 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). 16.5% of Waurika households have no vehicle (Oklahoma 5.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Waurika’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Waurika compares with U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 936 | Justice OK | 1,530 | $98K | 7.5% | 2.7% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,235 | Kiefer OK | 2,310 | $83K | 10.4% | 3.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,236 | Union City OK | 2,129 | $106K | 11.5% | 2.9% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,458 | Coushatta LA | 1,623 | $31K | 34.6% | 2.4% | 22% | D− |
| 5,459 | Carnegie OK | 1,366 | $44K | 21.6% | 5.0% | 29% | D− |
| 5,460 | Waurika OK | 1,867 | $46K | 28.1% | 7.4% | 26% | D− |
| 5,461 | Canton PA | 1,682 | $42K | 22.2% | 8.1% | 16% | D− |
| 5,462 | Springville Township MI | 1,800 | $47K | 24.8% | 7.9% | 5% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Waurika, 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 Waurika: questions
What is the median household income in Waurika?
$45,882 (±$4,546) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waurika?
28.1%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waurika?
28 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waurika work?
26% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Duncan (19%, 21 mi), Oklahoma City (9%, 93 mi), Wichita Falls (5%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Waurika walkable?
Waurika is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Waurika without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waurika, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waurika
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.