Work & commute · Lawton

Work & commute in Lawton, OK

55% of Lawton’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Oklahoma City (13%), Norman (2%) and Tulsa (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

55%

15,788 of 28,505 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 12,717 Lawton residents head out of town to work, 15,788 work right here, and 14,797 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lawton.

12,717live here, work elsewhere

15,788live and work here

14,797work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lawton goes to work

Lawton (in town)right here

55%15,788

Oklahoma City78 mi away

13%3,585

Norman74.6 mi away

2%577

Tulsa176.2 mi away

2%536

Duncan27.8 mi away

2%464

Wichita Falls, TX49.5 mi away

1%327

Ardmore79 mi away

1%281

Altus50.5 mi away

1%251

Chickasha39.7 mi away

1%225

Moore72.7 mi away

1%213

Everywhere elseother towns and states

22%6,258

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

How far

How far Lawton commutes

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

58%

35%

58%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lawton is balanced between jobs and homes

1.07jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.07 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lawton are

30,585 jobs are based in Lawton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lawton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lawton

30,585 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Lawton residents hold

28,505 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month42%

+2%

Jobs based in Lawton, 2013 → 2023: 29,985 → 30,585. 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.