Work & commute · Helena

Work & commute in Helena, OK

Most working residents leave Helena for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Oklahoma City (14%), Enid (13%) and Cherokee (4%). Half commute less than 52 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

42 of 398 working residents

Typical commute

52 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 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 356 Helena residents head out of town to work, 42 work right here, and 184 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Helena.

356live here, work elsewhere

42live and work here

184work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Helena goes to work

Oklahoma City85.8 mi away

14%55

Enid24.3 mi away

13%52

Helena (in town)right here

11%42

Cherokee14.9 mi away

4%14

Wichita, KS93.9 mi away

3%13

Alva27.5 mi away

3%12

Waynoka34 mi away

3%11

Fairview22.2 mi away

3%10

Norman104.1 mi away

2%8

Carmen10.6 mi away

2%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%174

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

How far

How far Helena commutes

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

12%

25%

13%

50%

12%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

50%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Helena is a commuter town

0.57jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Helena are

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

Jobs based in Helena

226 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Helena residents hold

398 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month47%

+3%

Jobs based in Helena, 2013 → 2023: 219 → 226. 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.