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Place dossier plate
SheetOK-LAWTON-OK · Lawton, OK 90,662 pop · income 25th pct · 38 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Lawton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Lawton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Fort Bragg · lowest
53,580
Fort Bragg · lowest
53,580 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #1
Chester · near
53,583
Chester · near
53,583 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #2
Zolfo Springs · near
53,587
Zolfo Springs · near
53,587 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #3
Lawton · this city
53,588
Lawton · this city
53,588 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #4
Lake Luzerne · near
53,594
Lake Luzerne · near
53,594 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #5
Dawson · near
53,594
Dawson · near
53,594 median HH income
47.8% of the leader · rank #6
Germantown · highest
112,149
Germantown · highest
112,149 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Lawton on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 90,662.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Lawton - the verdict
Lawton ranks in the 25th percentile for household income and the 11th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
25th
percentile, household income
22nd
percentile, home value
14th
percentile, median rent
11th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Lawton, OK
90,662 people live in Lawton, Oklahoma - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Lawton households earn a median of $53,588 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 16.1%. Home values in Lawton run a median of $134,200, and the median resident age is 32.1 years. About 22.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 45.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 75 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 103% from five years earlier. Lawton's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 3473.0 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 62.0°F with 34.2 inches of precipitation per year.
Living costs in Oklahoma run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Oklahoma scores 87.8 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $995 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Oklahoma's average monthly utility costs around $205 (state average). Workers in Lawton report an average commute of 13.9 minutes, with 73.0% driving alone and 12.5% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 55.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Lawton's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to climate and hazard context to within-city variation to comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Lawton, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, annual population history, local building permits.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Lawton?
The NCES join finds 26 public schools within the city match. 22.9% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 62.0°F, with 34.2 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Oklahoma is 55.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
PlainCities matches 38 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Lawton?
Within Oklahoma, the closest population matches are Edmond (95,618 residents, $102,032 income); Broken Arrow (115,919 residents, $85,220 income); Moore (63,045 residents, $76,941 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Indio, CA (90,669 residents); Hemet, CA (90,646 residents); Avondale, AZ (90,644 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Lawton growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +126 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 75 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
+0.1%
2025 estimate
90,503
2020 estimate
90,377
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in Lawton?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 16.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$53,588
Home value
$134,200
Value / income
2.5×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Lawton?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3473.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 52% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2652.7
Violent rate
820.3
Total reported rate
3473.0
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Lawton?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 13.9 minutes.
Public transit
0.6%
Work from home
12.5%
Drive alone
73.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 40,491 workers age 16+.
Below median income · poverty 16.1% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Oklahoma average
F
City profile score · Lawton, OK
36/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
87.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share D
22.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$53,588
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
16.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
820 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Lawton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 43/100 (D) · 22.9%
Household income: 25/100 (F) · $53,588
Poverty rate: 21/100 (F) · 16.1%
Violent crime: 1/100 (F) · 820 /100k
Where Lawton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Lawton's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Lawton highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Lawton, OK (this city): home $134,200, crime 3,473/100k
Hemet, CA : home $314,200, crime 2,059/100k
Avondale, AZ : home $348,700, crime 2,611/100k
Nashua, NH : home $373,100, crime 1,422/100k
Edmond, OK : home $324,900, crime 1,521/100k
Broken Arrow, OK : home $229,300, crime 1,424/100k
Moore, OK : home $189,300, crime 1,703/100k
Midwest City, OK : home $158,400, crime 2,428/100k
Norman, OK : home $239,300, crime 2,527/100k
Enid, OK : home $143,500, crime 2,922/100k
How does Lawton compare to other US cities?
Here's how Lawton stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income25% higher than other cities
Home value22% pricier than other cities
Median rent14% pricier than other cities
Safety11% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Oklahoma and the picture shifts: Lawton ranks #186 of 203 Oklahoma cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Lawton against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Oklahoma only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Oklahoma-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Lawton near the bottom of Oklahoma's cities
Among the 671 Oklahoma cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Lawton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Lawton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#296 of 639
54th percentile in Oklahoma
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 671
0th percentile in Oklahoma
Median Home Value
#197 of 628
68th percentile in Oklahoma
Poverty Rate
#240 of 671
64th percentile in Oklahoma
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#142 of 671
78th percentile in Oklahoma
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Oklahoma only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
25th percentile nationally for median household income · 11th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Lawton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Lawton's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Lawton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$134,200Among the most affordablemore affordable than 78% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. 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 U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Lawton's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,011 of 15,516
More affordable than 74% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#37 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 2.5×, Lawton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,011 of 15,516 and #37 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$53,588Lawton, OK median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Lawton, OK median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Lawton, OK.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)22.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)16.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)45.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
90,662
Median Income
$53,588
Median Home Value
$134,200
Median Age
32.1
Poverty Rate
16.1%
Labor force participation
45.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
22.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3473.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
820.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2652.7
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
62.0°F
Annual Precipitation
34.2"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
26
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Lawton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
90,377 residents
2021
91,216 residents
2022
90,956 residents
2023
90,484 residents
2024
90,239 residents
2025
90,503 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
75
housing units authorized
Single-Family
69
detached homes
Multifamily
6
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
37
37
0
$8.7M
2020
45
45
0
$13.1M
2021
66
66
0
$15.9M
2022
33
33
0
$8.3M
2023
104
72
32
$21.1M
2024
75
69
6
$17.0M
Permit volume increased 103% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
13.9 minutes
Drive Alone
73.0%
Carpool
9.2%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
2.2%
Work from Home
12.5%
Other
2.5%
Based on 40,491 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Oklahoma statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $205
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Oklahoma at $205 (electricity about $115 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are Oklahoma statewide averages, not a meter reading for Lawton. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Oklahoma's BEA cost-of-living index is 87.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Lawton is $995/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Oklahoma statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 55.5 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Oklahoma statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Lawton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Lawton compares to similar-size Oklahoma cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.