What is the cost of living in Oklahoma City?

Oklahoma City has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 90.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 73.9, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,244/month.

What is the median salary in Oklahoma City?

The median salary in Oklahoma City is $63,824 annually (mean: $67,852). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.

How safe is Oklahoma City?

The violent crime rate in the Oklahoma City area is 428 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 2008 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Oklahoma City?

The state of OK has 1,778 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 16.1:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Oklahoma City?

Infant center-based childcare in the Oklahoma City area averages $10,666 per year. Preschool averages $9,220/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Oklahoma City a good place to relocate?

Oklahoma City has a Life Score of 55.6/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Oklahoma City sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Oklahoma City ranks #283 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Oklahoma City, OK

LiveAbility 44.8/100 places Oklahoma City #283 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

90.4
Cost index (US=100): $1,244
2BR rent / mo: $63,824
Median salary: 44.8
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Oklahoma City ranks #283 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (44.8/100), with its strongest marks in climate and cost of living.

#283
of 387 US metros · Near median: 4,095,393
metro-area population: 428
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,778
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (12/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Oklahoma City ranks #283 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 90.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,244/mo, median salary $63,824; LiveAbility Score 44.8/100, strongest in climate and cost of living.

Signature: LiveAbility 44.8/100 places Oklahoma City #283 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 90.4 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,244/mo.

LiveAbility 44.8/100 puts Oklahoma City in the bottom third (#283 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Oklahoma City area is 665,370.

Oklahoma City vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

45 Top 73% higher than 27% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Oklahoma City housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Oklahoma City MSA; housing RPP 73.9 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,244/mo.

Studio

$939

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,017

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,244

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,675

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,857

/month

Oklahoma City wages and employment

Oklahoma City posts 665,370 total employment with median salary $63,824 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$63,824

Mean Salary

$67,852

Total Employment

665,370

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$24,960
Retail Salespersons	$30,160
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$37,010
General and Operations Managers	$97,110
Registered Nurses	$82,920

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Oklahoma City area from NCES.

Schools

1,778

Enrollment

696,253

Student:Teacher

16.1:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Oklahoma City area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$10,666

per year

Toddler (Center)

$9,220

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,220

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Oklahoma City's composite Life Score is 55.6/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

73/100

Strong

Wages

43/100

Below average

Rent

58/100

Above average

Crime

23/100

Weak

Schools

61/100

Above average

Childcare

45/100

Average

Environment

98/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Oklahoma City ranks #283 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 44.8/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (83/100)

Climate

83
Cost of living

73
Housing

58
Job market

43
Schools

39
Safety

23
Low hazard

14
Air quality

12

What this shows Oklahoma City's strongest dimensions are climate and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 12/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Oklahoma City to

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal Hinesville Homosassa Springs Hot Springs Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux

Metros near Oklahoma City on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Oklahoma City on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Oklahoma City cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Oklahoma City wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Oklahoma City?

Oklahoma City runs a $63,824 median salary at a 90.4 cost index, ranking #283 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Oklahoma City's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Oklahoma City head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Oklahoma City
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.