Work & commute · Poteau

Work & commute in Poteau, OK

About one in 3 of Poteau’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Fort Smith (14%), Heavener (5%) and Oklahoma City (3%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

34%

1,054 of 3,059 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 2,005 Poteau residents head out of town to work, 1,054 work right here, and 3,624 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Poteau.

2,005live here, work elsewhere

1,054live and work here

3,624work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Poteau goes to work

Poteau (in town)right here

34%1,054

Fort Smith, AR23.7 mi away

14%415

Heavener12.1 mi away

5%140

Oklahoma City166.1 mi away

3%107

Tulsa103.2 mi away

2%64

Durant125.6 mi away

2%49

Muskogee62.9 mi away

1%44

Pocola15.1 mi away

1%43

McAlester66.6 mi away

1%38

Sallisaw29.4 mi away

1%36

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%1,069

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

How far

How far Poteau commutes

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

40%

21%

10%

29%

40%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Poteau is a job hub

1.53jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Poteau are

4,678 jobs are based in Poteau. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Poteau’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Poteau

4,678 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month37%

Jobs Poteau residents hold

3,059 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month40%

+5%

Jobs based in Poteau, 2013 → 2023: 4,444 → 4,678. 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.