Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetOK-TULSA-OK · Tulsa, OK 412,322 pop · income 33rd pct · 208 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 Tulsa
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Tulsa on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Lawton · lowest
53,588
Lawton · lowest
53,588 median HH income
52.5% of the leader · rank #1
Fort Campbell… · near
58,403
Fort Campbell… · near
58,403 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #2
Tulsa · this city
58,407
Tulsa · this city
58,407 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #3
Buena Vista · near
58,409
Buena Vista · near
58,409 median HH income
57.2% of the leader · rank #4
Mountain Lake… · near
58,418
Mountain Lake… · near
58,418 median HH income
57.3% of the leader · rank #5
Milltown · near
58,419
Milltown · near
58,419 median HH income
57.3% of the leader · rank #6
Edmond · highest
102,032
Edmond · highest
102,032 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 Tulsa 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: 412,322.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Tulsa - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Tulsa places in the 33rd percentile for household income and the 5th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
33rd
percentile, household income
40th
percentile, home value
14th
percentile, median rent
5th
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: Tulsa, OK
412,322 people live in Tulsa, Oklahoma - a mid-sized U.S. city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Tulsa report a median income of $58,407 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 14.2%. Typical homes in Tulsa are valued around $189,600, and the median resident age is 35.5 years. About 33.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 60.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 723 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 40% from five years earlier. Tulsa's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 4569.3 crimes per 100,000 residents, above the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 61.3°F with 41.0 inches of precipitation per year and 8.7 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in Oklahoma run below the national norm: the state registers 87.8 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. 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 Tulsa report an average commute of 16.8 minutes, with 75.4% driving alone and 10.1% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 55.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Tulsa'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 population change to within-city variation to reported crime to work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist to climate and hazard context; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Tulsa, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Tulsa?
The NCES join finds 101 public schools within the city match. 33.3% 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.
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 +2,592 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 723 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
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 208 Census tracts to this city.
Which cities make useful reference points for Tulsa?
Within Oklahoma, the closest population matches are Oklahoma City (688,693 residents, $66,702 income); Norman (128,714 residents, $65,060 income); Broken Arrow (115,919 residents, $85,220 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bakersfield, CA (408,366 residents); Minneapolis, MN (426,845 residents); Wichita, KS (396,488 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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Tulsa?
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 4569.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 100% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
3627.4
Violent rate
941.9
Total reported rate
4569.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
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 75.4%. The reported mean trip to work is 16.8 minutes.
Public transit
0.5%
Work from home
10.1%
Drive alone
75.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 193,191 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Tulsa?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.2%, 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
$58,407
Home value
$189,600
Value / income
3.2×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 61.3°F, with 41.0 inches of precipitation and 8.7 inches of annual snowfall. 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.
Mean temperature
61.3°F
Annual precipitation
41.0 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
55.5
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Below median income · poverty 14.2% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Oklahoma average
D
City profile score · Tulsa, OK
41/100
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 C+
33.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$58,407
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
942 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Tulsa profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Bachelor's+ share: 64/100 (C+) · 33.3%
Household income: 32/100 (F) · $58,407
Poverty rate: 24/100 (F) · 14.2%
Violent crime: 0/100 (F) · 942 /100k
Where Tulsa sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Tulsa'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 - Tulsa highlighted among 13 peers.Read the chart values
Tulsa, OK (this city): home $189,600, crime 4,569/100k
Bakersfield, CA : home $347,300, crime 3,024/100k
Minneapolis, MN : home $345,600, crime 6,303/100k
Wichita, KS : home $179,500, crime 2,842/100k
Arlington, TX : home $276,400, crime 2,896/100k
Tampa, FL : home $375,300, crime 1,910/100k
Aurora, CO : home $444,500, crime 4,052/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
Norman, OK : home $239,300, crime 2,527/100k
Broken Arrow, OK : home $229,300, crime 1,424/100k
Edmond, OK : home $324,900, crime 1,521/100k
Lawton, OK : home $134,200, crime 3,473/100k
Moore, OK : home $189,300, crime 1,703/100k
How does Tulsa compare to other US cities?
Where Tulsa sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income33% higher than other cities
Home value40% pricier than other cities
Median rent14% pricier than other cities
Safety5% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Oklahoma alone, Tulsa ranks #198 of 203 Oklahoma cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Tulsa 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 Tulsa near the bottom of Oklahoma's cities
Among the 671 Oklahoma cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Tulsa ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Tulsa only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#227 of 639
64th percentile in Oklahoma
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 671
0th percentile in Oklahoma
Median Home Value
#71 of 628
89th percentile in Oklahoma
Poverty Rate
#283 of 671
58th percentile in Oklahoma
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#63 of 671
90th 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
33rd percentile nationally for median household income · 5th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Tulsa's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Tulsa'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 Tulsa's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$189,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 60% 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
Tulsa's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,901 of 15,516
More affordable than 49% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#20 of 117
Large cities (200,000–999,999)
At 3.2×, Tulsa sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,901 of 15,516 and #20 of 117large cities (200,000–999,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
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
$58,407Tulsa, OK median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Tulsa, 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 Tulsa, OK.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)33.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
412,322
Median Income
$58,407
Median Home Value
$189,600
Median Age
35.5
Poverty Rate
14.2%
Labor force participation
60.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
33.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
4569.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
941.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3627.4
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
61.3°F
Annual Precipitation
41.0"
Annual Snowfall
8.7"
Schools
Total Schools
101
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Tulsa's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
413,617 residents
2021
412,983 residents
2022
413,113 residents
2023
414,177 residents
2024
416,182 residents
2025
416,209 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
723
housing units authorized
Single-Family
424
detached homes
Multifamily
299
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1,209
629
580
$246.4M
2020
831
521
310
$165.7M
2021
817
652
165
$187.4M
2022
821
452
369
$127.2M
2023
876
524
352
$179.3M
2024
723
424
299
$148.5M
Permit volume decreased 40% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
16.8 minutes
Drive Alone
75.4%
Carpool
10.2%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
1.7%
Work from Home
10.1%
Other
2.1%
Based on 193,191 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 Tulsa. 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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Tulsa 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.