What is the cost of living in Tulsa?

Tulsa has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 89.2, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 68.2, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,217/month.

What is the median salary in Tulsa?

The median salary in Tulsa is $61,480 annually (mean: $65,063). Top occupations include Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers.

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

What are the schools like in Tulsa?

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 Tulsa?

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

Is Tulsa a good place to relocate?

Tulsa has a Life Score of 55.8/100 (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 Tulsa sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Tulsa ranks #266 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

Tulsa, OK

BEA RPP 89.2 ranks #81 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

89.2
Cost index (US=100): $1,217
2BR rent / mo: $61,480
Median salary: 46.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Tulsa ranks #266 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (46.6/100), with its strongest marks in climate and cost of living.

#266
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: low hazard (13/100). 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), Tulsa ranks #266 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 89.2 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,217/mo, median salary $61,480; LiveAbility Score 46.6/100, strongest in climate and cost of living.

Signature: BEA RPP 89.2 ranks #81 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 89.2 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,217/mo.

LiveAbility 46.6/100 puts Tulsa in the bottom third (#266 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Tulsa area is 445,680.

Tulsa 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)

47 Top 69% higher than 31% 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

Tulsa housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Tulsa MSA; housing RPP 68.2 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,217/mo.

Studio

$933

/month

1 Bedroom

$987

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,217

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,602

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,858

/month

Tulsa wages and employment

Tulsa posts 445,680 total employment with median salary $61,480 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$61,480

Mean Salary

$65,063

Total Employment

445,680

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$26,460
Retail Salespersons	$29,810
General and Operations Managers	$96,150
Registered Nurses	$84,790
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$36,980

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Tulsa area from NCES.

Schools

1,778

Enrollment

696,253

Student:Teacher

16.1:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

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

Infant (Center)

$10,666

per year

Toddler (Center)

$9,220

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,220

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Tulsa's composite Life Score is 55.8/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

79/100

Strong

Wages

34/100

Weak

Rent

61/100

Above average

Crime

23/100

Weak

Schools

62/100

Above average

Childcare

45/100

Average

Environment

98/100

Elite

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Tulsa ranks #266 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 46.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Climate (97/100)

Climate

97
Cost of living

79
Housing

61
Schools

38
Job market

35
Safety

23
Air quality

16
Low hazard

13

What this shows Tulsa's strongest dimensions are climate and cost of living; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 13/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Tulsa to

Baton Rouge Battle Creek Bay City Beaumont-Port Arthur Beckley Bellingham

Metros near Tulsa on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Tulsa 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

Tulsa cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Tulsa 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 Tulsa?

Tulsa runs a $61,480 median salary at a 89.2 cost index, ranking #266 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Tulsa's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Tulsa head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Tulsa
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.