Metro comparison

Enid vs Lawton

Enid, OK * and Lawton, OK side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.

50.3
Enid Life Score
B-
Enid grade
52.4
Lawton Life Score
B-
Lawton grade

Head-to-head verdict

Across the seven dimensions, Enid scores higher on 3 (cost of living, safety, childcare) and Lawton on 4 (wages, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.

Enid vs Lawton across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)

Enid vs Lawton across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall) 7-axis radar comparing 2 series across Cost, Wages, Rent, Safety, Schools, Childcare, Environ.. CostWagesRentSafetySchoolsChildcareEnviron. EnidLawton
Enid vs Lawton across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)

Source: BEA, HUD, BLS, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA As of December 2024

Dimension scorecard

Where each metro wins, and by how much

Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.

◖ Enid Lawton ◗
cost of living
99
95
wages
1
2
rent
91
92
safety
23
23
schools
59
61
childcare
46
45
environment
28
52

Enid and Lawton differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Enid has a cost-of-living index of 84.3 vs Lawton's 85.9 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $50,980 in Enid and $56,942 in Lawton. A 2-bedroom averages $1,027/mo vs $1,001/mo.

How to read this matchup

Reading the Enid vs Lawton Comparison

Enid (OK) and Lawton (OK) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 84.3 for Enid against 85.9 for Lawton, a 1.7-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,027/mo in Enid and $1,001/mo in Lawton, a $26/mo difference that compounds to $312 over a year.

On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $50,980 across 17,890 jobs in Enid against $56,942 across 36,440 jobs in Lawton. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Enid carries the same local purchasing power as $101,984 in Lawton - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 427.9 per 100,000 residents in OK vs 427.9 in OK, with property-crime rates of 2008.3 and 2008.3 respectively.

Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: OK lists 1,778 public schools at a 16.1:1 student-teacher ratio, while OK lists 1,778 schools at 16.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $10,666/yr in the Enid area versus $10,666/yr in Lawton - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Enid and Lawton are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.

Enid composite

50.3 /100

Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims

Lawton composite

52.4 /100

Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims

Cost-of-living gap

-1.7 pts

Enid vs Lawton BEA RPP

2-bed rent delta

$26 /mo

Enid priced higher

Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale

Enid

Enid composite (Grade B-)

Lawton

Lawton composite (Grade B-)

Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.

💰 Cost of Living BEA →

Category Enid Lawton
Overall RPP 84.3 85.9
Goods 93.8 93.8
Services 74.4 73.0
Rents 51.4 57.4

Salary Equivalent Calculator

What salary in Lawton gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Enid?

$
Equivalent in Lawton: $101,984

Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Enid: 84.3, Lawton: 85.9, national avg = 100).

🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →

Bedrooms Enid Lawton
Studio $785/mo $779/mo
1 Bedroom $799/mo $784/mo
2 Bedroom $1,027/mo $1,001/mo
3 Bedroom $1,336/mo $1,392/mo
4 Bedroom $1,360/mo $1,679/mo

💼 Wages & Employment BLS →

Metric Enid Lawton
Avg Median Salary $50,980 $56,942
Total Employment 17,890 36,440

🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →

Crime Type (per 100K) Enid (OK) Lawton (OK)
Violent Crime 427.9 427.9
Property Crime 2008.3 2008.3

🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →

Metric OK OK
Total Schools 1,778 1,778
Student-Teacher Ratio 16.1:1 16.1:1
Charter Schools 3.5% 3.5%

👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →

Age Group OK OK
Infant (Center) $10,666/yr $10,666/yr
Toddler (Center) $9,220/yr $9,220/yr
Preschool (Center) $9,220/yr $9,220/yr

🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →

Metric OK OK
EPA Facilities 485 485
Water Systems 883 883
Superfund Sites 18 18
Water Violations 28,341 28,341
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.

💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →

Metric Enid Lawton
Median AQI 45.2 43.0
Good Air Days 65.4% 66.8%
Unhealthy Air Days N/A 7 days

Enid air quality shown at state level. Lawton has metro-level data.

💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →

Metric OK OK
Water Safety Score 2/100 2/100
Total Violations 336,706 336,706
Health-Based Violations 113,804 113,804
Systems with Violations 98.2% 98.2%

🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →

Metric OK OK
Healthcare Access Score 0/100 0/100
Population in Shortage Area 100.0% 100.0%
HPSA Designations 460 460

HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.

⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →

Metric OK OK
Disaster Safety Score 56/100 56/100
NRI Risk Score (avg county) 55.5 55.5
Expected Annual Loss Score 50.0 50.0

FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Enid more expensive than Lawton?
Enid has a cost of living index of 84.3 compared to Lawton's 85.9 (national average = 100). Lawton is 1.7 points above Enid on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Enid and Lawton?
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,027/mo in Enid vs $1,001/mo in Lawton, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $785/mo to $779/mo.
How do salaries compare between Enid and Lawton?
The average median salary across all occupations is $50,980 in Enid and $56,942 in Lawton, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Enid has the same purchasing power as $101,984 in Lawton.
Is Enid or Lawton safer?
At the state level, OK has a violent crime rate of 427.9 per 100,000 residents compared to OK's 427.9 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2008.3 vs 2008.3 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Enid and Lawton?
OK has 1,778 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.1:1, while OK has 1,778 schools at 16.1:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of OK schools vs 3.5% in OK. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from?
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial