PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Oklahoma City, OK

52.5
Life Score / 100
B
Grade (curved)
#163
of 387 metros
58%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Oklahoma City ranks #163 of 387 US metros, ahead of 58% - carried by its cost of living (73/100) and held back most by safety (23/100).

73
strongest: Cost of Living
66
then: Environment
23
weakest: Safety
7
weighted dimensions

Where Oklahoma City sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

53 58th percentile higher than 58% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). This entry sits in this band. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Oklahoma City Life Score

Oklahoma City's composite score of 52.5 out of 100, a grade of B, places the metro at rank #163 of 387, ahead of 58% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (73/100) and Environment (66/100), which pull the composite upward, while Safety (23/100) and Wages (43/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 90.4 (rent-RPP 73.9). BLS median salary $63,824, 665,370 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand). HUD 2BR FMR $1,244/mo (studio $939).

FBI UCR (OK): 428 violent, 2008 property/100K. NCES: 16.1:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. DOL infant childcare $10,666/yr. EPA: 18 Superfund sites (OK). Ranks #160-#166 below.

Dimension detail

How Oklahoma City scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 73/100 (20%)
Wages 43/100 (20%)
Rent 58/100 (15%)
Safety 23/100 (15%)
Schools 61/100 (10%)
Childcare 45/100 (10%)
Environment 66/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

90.4
Cost Index (RPP)
$63,824
Avg Median Salary
$1,244
2BR Fair Market Rent
428
Violent Crime/100K (OK)
16.1:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$10,666
Infant Childcare/yr (OK)
18
Superfund Sites (OK)
665,370
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Oklahoma City With...

Oklahoma City vs Tulsa Compare → Oklahoma City vs Lawton Compare → Oklahoma City vs Enid Compare → Oklahoma City vs Wildwood Compare → Oklahoma City vs Waterloo Compare → Oklahoma City vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Oklahoma City outranks 58% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#160 Winchester, VA-WV 52.6 B
#161 Roanoke, VA 52.6 B
#162 Columbia, SC 52.6 B
#163 Oklahoma City, OK 52.5 B
#164 Reno, NV 52.5 B
#165 Utica-Rome, NY 52.5 B
#166 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 52.5 B

OK Metro Scores

Tulsa, OK B 55.1 Lawton, OK B- 52.4 Enid, OK * B- 50.3 Fort Smith, AR-OK C 44.4

Using Oklahoma City's Life Score

Oklahoma City is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is cost of living (73/100) and its weakest is safety (23/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Oklahoma City head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Oklahoma City lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Oklahoma City's biggest strengths? ▼
Oklahoma City's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (73/100), Environment (66/100), Schools (61/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Oklahoma City's weakest areas? ▼
Oklahoma City's lowest-scoring dimensions are Safety (23/100), Wages (43/100), Childcare (45/100). Safety weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Oklahoma City compared to the national average? ▼
Oklahoma City's Regional Price Parity is 90.4 (9.6% less than national); rent RPP 73.9.
What is the average salary in Oklahoma City? ▼
Oklahoma City median salary: $63,824, 665,370 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Oklahoma City's 52.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

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

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.