Okemah is a very small city located in the state of Oklahoma. With a population of 3,051 people and just one neighborhood, Okemah is the 127th largest community in Oklahoma.
Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Okemah is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Okemah is a city of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Okemah who work in food service (12.88%), sales jobs (11.87%), and teaching (9.74%).
Okemah is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.
The percentage of people in Okemah with college degrees is quite a bit lower than the national average for cities and towns of 21.84%: just 11.29% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.
The per capita income in Okemah in 2022 was $18,300, which is low income relative to Oklahoma and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $73,200 for a family of four. Okemah also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 43.55% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Okemah is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Okemah home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Okemah residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Okemah include German, English, Irish, Italian, and Scottish.
The most common language spoken in Okemah is English. Other important languages spoken here include Native American languages and Spanish.
When you see a neighborhood for the first time, the most important thing is often the way it looks, like its homes and its setting. Some places look the same, but they only reveal their true character after living in them for a while because they contain a unique mix of occupational or cultural groups. This neighborhood is very unique in some important ways, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive exploration and analysis.
The government often provides some of the more stable jobs in the economy. From local, to state, to federal government workers, the government can also be a major employer. What NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed, is that the neighborhood in particular stands out when compared nationally for the proportion of its working residents who are employed by the government. At 13.6% of its workforce, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of government workers than 96.1% of U.S. neighborhoods.
Furthermore, from major sales accounts to fast-food workers, sales and service employees are often the backbone of the local economy. In the neighborhood, they truly stand out. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis identifies this neighborhood as having a higher percentage of sales and service workers than 95.0% of all American neighborhoods.
One of the unique characteristics of the neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 95.9% of the neighborhoods in America.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Native American ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 25.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Native American ancestry.
is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 4.2% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Native American languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in America.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Okemah are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 95.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 51.7% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 94.7% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 37.2% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is executive, management, and professional occupations, with 26.8% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (21.2%), and 13.6% in government jobs, whether they are in local, state, or federal positions.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 94.9% of households. Some people also speak Native American languages (4.2%).
Boston's Beacon Hill blue-blood streets, Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish enclaves, Los Angeles' Persian neighborhoods. Each has its own culture derived primarily from the ancestries and culture of the residents who call these neighborhoods home. Likewise, each neighborhood in America has its own culture – some more unique than others – based on lifestyle, occupations, the types of households – and importantly – on the ethnicities and ancestries of the people who live in the neighborhood. Understanding where people came from, who their grandparents or great-grandparents were, can help you understand how a neighborhood is today.
In the neighborhood in Okemah, OK, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Native American (25.8%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (7.3%), and residents who report Irish roots (5.9%), and some of the residents are also of English ancestry (5.0%), along with some Mexican ancestry residents (3.1%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (47.8% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (72.5%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (18.2%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.