Work & commute · Tahlequah

Work & commute in Tahlequah, OK

About one in 3 of Tahlequah’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Tulsa (9%), Muskogee (7%) and Oklahoma City (4%). Half commute less than 23 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

38%

2,297 of 6,102 working residents

Typical commute

23 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 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 3,805 Tahlequah residents head out of town to work, 2,297 work right here, and 7,047 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Tahlequah.

3,805live here, work elsewhere

2,297live and work here

7,047work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Tahlequah goes to work

Tahlequah (in town)right here

38%2,297

Tulsa53.8 mi away

9%537

Muskogee24.1 mi away

7%424

Oklahoma City145.6 mi away

4%242

Catoosa48 mi away

3%182

Broken Arrow46 mi away

2%126

Stilwell20.5 mi away

1%67

Poteau61.9 mi away

1%65

Wagoner22.7 mi away

1%64

Owasso54.5 mi away

1%55

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%2,043

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

How far

How far Tahlequah commutes

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

42%

11%

16%

31%

42%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Tahlequah 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 Tahlequah are

9,344 jobs are based in Tahlequah. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Tahlequah’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Tahlequah

9,344 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)83%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month39%

Jobs Tahlequah residents hold

6,102 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month45%

+5%

Jobs based in Tahlequah, 2013 → 2023: 8,926 → 9,344. 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.