Work & commute · Rock Island

Work & commute in Rock Island, OK

Most working residents leave Rock Island for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Fort Smith (37%), Pocola (9%) and Poteau (9%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 276 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 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 272 Rock Island residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 57 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rock Island.

272live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

57work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rock Island goes to work

Fort Smith, AR13 mi away

37%102

Pocola4.7 mi away

9%24

Poteau10.9 mi away

9%24

Oklahoma City172 mi away

4%12

Tulsa102.9 mi away

2%5

Rock Island (in town)right here

1%4

Muskogee62.5 mi away

1%4

Mena, AR43.9 mi away

1%3

Barling, AR15.3 mi away

1%3

Van Buren, AR19.8 mi away

1%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%92

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

How far

How far Rock Island commutes

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

15%

55%

25%

15%Under 10 mi

55%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rock Island is a commuter town

0.22jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Rock Island are

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

Jobs based in Rock Island

61 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities8%

Services (health, schools, offices…)89%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month57%

Over $3,333 a month25%

Jobs Rock Island residents hold

276 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−54%

Jobs based in Rock Island, 2013 → 2023: 132 → 61. 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.