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Jobs & commute in Whitefield

Where Whitefield earns its living

80 jobs are based in Whitefield for 99 working residents. Only 1% work in Whitefield; the top destination outside it is Stigler (13%, 7 miles). Working residents average 26 minutes each way (Oklahoma 22, U.S. 26).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily flow of workers through Whitefield

On a workday 98 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 79 people come in from elsewhere.

98live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
79work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night380
Workday360
380live here− 98head out to work+ 79come in to work= 360on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.81jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.81 per resident).

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 commute map

Where Whitefield goes to work

Fort Smith: 3 residents work here (3%)GertyKeotaKinta: 3 residents work here (3%)Quinton: 7 residents work here (7%)Red OakLe FloreWhitefieldStigler: 13 residents work here (13%)Eufaula: 3 residents work here (3%)Sallisaw: 3 residents work here (3%)McAlester: 5 residents work here (5%)Muskogee: 3 residents work here (3%)Poteau: 4 residents work here (4%)Oklahoma City: 5 residents work here (5%)PanolaTexannaStiglerQuintonMcAlesterOklahoma CityPoteauFort SmithWhitefield
1
Stigler7.2 mi away
13%13
2
Quinton11.2 mi away
7%7
3
McAlester37.5 mi away
5%5
4
Oklahoma City128.7 mi away
5%5
5
Poteau38.1 mi away
4%4
6
Fort Smith, AR49.7 mi away
3%3
7
Kinta9.3 mi away
3%3
8
Eufaula19.5 mi away
3%3
9
Sallisaw28.4 mi away
3%3
10
Muskogee34.4 mi away
3%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
51%50
The top trips

Where Whitefield clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

What Whitefield’s employers do

Jobs based in WhitefieldJobs Whitefield residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%13%
Trade, transport & utilities50%18%
Services: health, schools, offices50%69%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less15%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month34%41%
Over $3,333 a month51%46%

Who does it

29 or younger33%23%
30 to 5458%57%
55 and older10%20%
+122%

Jobs based in Whitefield, 2013 → 2023: 36 → 80. 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 Whitefield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

A commute of about 26 minutes in Whitefield

A year of commuting
197 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Whitefield26 min
Oklahoma22 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
7%

of Whitefield workers work from home, vs 9% across Oklahoma. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Whitefield gets to work
82%Drive alone
15%Carpool
2%Walk

Share of the 202 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.

How far

The distance from Whitefield to work

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miStigler: 13% · 7.2 miQuinton: 7% · 11.2 miMcAlester: 5% · 37.5 miOklahoma City: 5% · 128.7 miPoteau: 4% · 38.1 miFort Smith: 3% · 49.7 miKinta: 3% · 9.3 miEufaula: 3% · 19.5 miSallisaw: 3% · 28.4 miMuskogee: 3% · 34.4 miStigler 13%Quinton 7%McAlester 5%Oklahoma City 5%Poteau 4%Whitefield
WhitefieldTop destinations (size = commuters)
20%Under 10 mi19 residents
22%10–24 mi21 residents
33%25–50 mi32 residents
26%Over 50 mi25 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Whitefield: questions

What is the median household income in Whitefield?

$46,250 (±$7,803) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $65,039 across Oklahoma and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Whitefield?

19.2%, against 15.3% across Oklahoma and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Whitefield?

26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Oklahoma and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Whitefield work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Stigler (13%, 7 mi), Quinton (7%, 11 mi), McAlester (5%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Whitefield without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Whitefield, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Whitefield

Whitefield home →

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.