Work & commute · Cherokee

Work & commute in Cherokee, OK

About one in 4 of Cherokee’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Oklahoma City (12%), Alva (7%) and Enid (5%). Half commute less than 44 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25%

188 of 747 working residents

Typical commute

44 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 559 Cherokee residents head out of town to work, 188 work right here, and 491 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Cherokee.

559live here, work elsewhere

188live and work here

491work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Cherokee goes to work

Cherokee (in town)right here

25%188

Oklahoma City100.4 mi away

12%86

Alva17.2 mi away

7%54

Enid36 mi away

5%40

Wichita, KS85.4 mi away

4%30

Stillwater83.2 mi away

2%15

Woodward62.3 mi away

1%11

Waynoka31.5 mi away

1%10

Dodge City, KS114.9 mi away

1%8

Tulsa143.1 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%298

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

How far

How far Cherokee commutes

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

27%

13%

11%

50%

27%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

50%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Cherokee is balanced between jobs and homes

0.91jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Cherokee are

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

Jobs based in Cherokee

679 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities29%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Cherokee residents hold

747 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month48%

−25%

Jobs based in Cherokee, 2013 → 2023: 900 → 679. 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.