Work & commute · Arkoma

Work & commute in Arkoma, OK

Most working residents leave Arkoma for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Smith (49%), Van Buren (4%) and Oklahoma City (4%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35 of 678 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 643 Arkoma residents head out of town to work, 35 work right here, and 131 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Arkoma.

643live here, work elsewhere

35live and work here

131work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Arkoma goes to work

Fort Smith, AR4.6 mi away

49%329

Arkoma (in town)right here

5%35

Van Buren, AR9.9 mi away

4%29

Oklahoma City172.9 mi away

4%27

Pocola5.5 mi away

4%25

Tulsa98.4 mi away

2%13

Barling, AR9.5 mi away

1%10

Poteau20.4 mi away

1%9

Muskogee58.5 mi away

1%8

Alma, AR17.4 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

27%186

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Arkoma commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

67%

25%

67%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Arkoma is a commuter town

0.24jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.24 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Arkoma are

166 jobs are based in Arkoma. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Arkoma’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Arkoma

166 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month39%

Jobs Arkoma residents hold

678 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month45%

−33%

Jobs based in Arkoma, 2013 → 2023: 249 → 166. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.