Work & commute · Elk

Work & commute in Elk, OK

46% of Elk’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Oklahoma City (7%), Clinton (3%) and Sayre (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

46%

1,895 of 4,131 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 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 2,236 Elk residents head out of town to work, 1,895 work right here, and 3,364 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Elk.

2,236live here, work elsewhere

1,895live and work here

3,364work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Elk goes to work

Elk City (in town)right here

46%1,895

Oklahoma City108 mi away

7%283

Clinton27 mi away

3%139

Sayre13 mi away

3%114

Weatherford43.1 mi away

2%88

Lawton78.1 mi away

2%64

Altus51.1 mi away

1%61

Burns Flat14.5 mi away

1%58

Tulsa204.2 mi away

1%37

El Reno83.2 mi away

1%36

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%1,356

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

How far

How far Elk commutes

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

55%

28%

55%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Elk is balanced between jobs and homes

1.27jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Elk are

5,259 jobs are based in Elk. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elk’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Elk

5,259 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Elk residents hold

4,131 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−22%

Jobs based in Elk, 2013 → 2023: 6,703 → 5,259. 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.