There are 2.7 jobs in Oklahoma for every working resident, and 609 people commute in
Commuters spend 13 minutes getting to work on average, next to 26 for Pennsylvania and 26 for the U.S. Oklahoma has 620 jobs for 230 working residents. Home is the office for 8% of workers, where Pennsylvania as a whole has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Oklahoma
Oklahoma is where the jobs are
Oklahoma has 620 jobs, 2.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Oklahoma and DuBois trade workers both ways
DuBois is the top workplace for Oklahoma residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Oklahoma come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Oklahoma are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. 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; with 230 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
In and out of Oklahoma on a workday
On a workday 219 residents head out to work and 11 work right here.
About 1,400 people are in Oklahoma on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.
2.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 people who work in Oklahoma live
Where Oklahoma clocks in
23% of workers
3% 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.
Oklahoma’s commute takes about 13 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oklahoma workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 371 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
A place that makes things: 39% of Oklahoma’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oklahoma, 2013 → 2023: 550 → 620. 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 Oklahoma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Oklahoma
About 28% 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.
Next door is work for 23% of Oklahoma
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to DuBois. Darker towns draw more of Oklahoma’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 Oklahoma: questions
What is the median household income in Oklahoma?
$56,977 (±$22,331) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oklahoma?
26.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oklahoma?
13 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oklahoma work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are DuBois (23%, 1 mi), Sandy Township (19%, 2 mi), Reynoldsville (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Oklahoma without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oklahoma, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oklahoma
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.