Most of Oak Ridge commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Oak Ridge has 26 jobs, and 121 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Oak Ridge; the top destination outside it is Gainesville (22%, 6 miles). 0% of workers work from home, next to 14% for Texas as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Oak Ridge
On a workday 121 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 26 people come in from elsewhere.
About 220 people are in Oak Ridge on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
The towns that employ Oak Ridge’s residents
Where Oak Ridge clocks in
22% of workers
11% 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.
Jobs in Oak Ridge: what the 26 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oak Ridge, 2013 → 2023: 36 → 26. 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 Oak Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes each way for Oak Ridge’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oak Ridge workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 161 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Texas: 83% 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 many miles Oak Ridge commutes
About 25% 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.
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 Oak Ridge: questions
What is the median household income in Oak Ridge?
$50,104 (±$14,310) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oak Ridge?
26.9%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oak Ridge?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oak Ridge work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gainesville (22%, 6 mi), Denton (11%, 30 mi), Dallas (8%, 61 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Oak Ridge without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oak Ridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oak Ridge
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.