Photo: sailko · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Oakton are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
Only 3% stay in Oakton for work; outside it, Washington is the main destination (15%, 15 miles). Below the poverty line: 4.6% of residents; Virginia has 9.9%. Home is the office for 34% of workers, where Virginia as a whole has 18%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Oakton at work: what stands out
A lot of Oakton works from home
34% of Oakton workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
Oakton draws workers from far and wide
The 9,966 jobs in Oakton are filled from a wide area. Oakton’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 21%; the other 74% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
76% of Oakton’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 82% of the jobs based in Oakton. The jobs ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Oakton’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 29 minutes, longer than the Virginia average of 27. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Oakton is services
91% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 5% are in factories, building or farms. 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.
What’s behind Oakton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oakton is among the top U.S. towns, #16 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Oakton’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oakton stays A+.
How long Oakton spends getting to work: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oakton workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,296 commuters (the 34% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where people from Oakton work
Where Oakton clocks in
15% of workers
10% 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.
Most jobs in Oakton are in services
9,966 jobs are based in Oakton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oakton, 2013 → 2023: 8,605 → 9,966. 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 Oakton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Oakton
On a workday 15,277 residents head out to work, 481 work right here, and 9,485 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in Oakton on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.63 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.
How far it is to work from Oakton
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.
Getting around
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 20,190 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 80% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 30% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 29.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.0% of Oakton households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 12% of Oakton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Oakton is 7th of 1,131 U.S. towns of 26,000 to 49,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| 6 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| 7 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 8 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| 9 | Trussville AL | 27,273 | $123K | 1.1% | 1.2% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Short Pump VA | 29,026 | $139K | 3.6% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Ashburn VA | 46,026 | $155K | 4.0% | 3.2% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Linton Hall VA | 41,876 | $179K | 2.2% | 3.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,131 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Oakton, the top three, the last and three more from Virginia.
How Oakton compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oakton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakton | – | A+ | A+ | 29 min | $160,663 |
| Difficult Run | under 3% | A+ | B | 30 min | $250,000+ |
| Fair Oaks | 3% | A− | A | 27 min | $123,947 |
| Vienna | 3% | A | A+ | 26 min | $216,953 |
| Fairfax | 3% | A | A+ | 28 min | $132,348 |
| Wolf Trap | under 3% | A+ | A− | 30 min | $250,000+ |
| Merrifield | under 3% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $136,373 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Fair Oaks. Darker towns draw more of Oakton’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 Oakton: questions
What is the median household income in Oakton?
$160,663 (±$7,916) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oakton?
4.6%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oakton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oakton work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (15%, 15 mi), Tysons (10%, 4 mi), Arlington (8%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oakton walkable?
Oakton is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.9 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oakton without a car?
12% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 30% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oakton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oakton
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.