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-ZENA-OK · Zena, OK 272 pop · income 20th pct
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 Zena
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Zena on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Terral · lowest
36,667
Terral · lowest
36,667 median HH income
29.3% of the leader · rank #1
Zena · this city
50,556
Zena · this city
50,556 median HH income
40.3% of the leader · rank #2
Dos Palos · near
50,556
Dos Palos · near
50,556 median HH income
40.3% of the leader · rank #3
Winchester · near
50,556
Winchester · near
50,556 median HH income
40.3% of the leader · rank #4
Canton · near
50,556
Canton · near
50,556 median HH income
40.3% of the leader · rank #5
Chokio · near
50,556
Chokio · near
50,556 median HH income
40.3% of the leader · rank #6
Keene · highest
125,341
Keene · highest
125,341 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Zena on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 272.
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Zena lands in the 20th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
20th
percentile, household income
14th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Zena, OK
Zena is a small town in Oklahoma, home to 272 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $50,556 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 17.6%. The median resident age is 30.0 years. Educational attainment runs 15.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 40.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
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. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $995 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Oklahoma's average monthly utility costs around $205 (state average). Commute times here average 53.9 minutes, with 100.0% driving alone and 0.0% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. 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 Zena'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 work and mobility to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Zena, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for annual population history, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Zena?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 100.0%. The reported mean trip to work is 53.9 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Which cities make useful reference points for Zena?
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.
Within Oklahoma, the closest population matches are Bluejacket (273 residents, $48,000 income); Ripley (271 residents, $38,750 income); Terral (273 residents, $36,667 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Horn Hill, AL (272 residents); Kilbourne, IL (272 residents); Fertile, IA (272 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.
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.
Household income F
$50,556
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
15.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
17.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Zena profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Household income: 21/100 (F) · $50,556
Bachelor's+ share: 21/100 (F) · 15.4%
Poverty rate: 18/100 (F) · 17.6%
How does Zena compare to other US cities?
Here's how Zena stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income20% higher than other cities
Median rent14% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Zena 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 Zena near the bottom of Oklahoma's cities
Among the 671 Oklahoma cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Zena ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Zena only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#342 of 639
46th percentile in Oklahoma
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 671
0th percentile in Oklahoma
Poverty Rate
#202 of 671
70th percentile in Oklahoma
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#303 of 671
55th 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
20th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
$50,556Zena, OK median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Zena, 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 Zena, OK.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)17.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)40.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
272
Median Income
$50,556
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
30.0
Poverty Rate
17.6%
Labor force participation
40.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.4%
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
53.9 minutes
Drive Alone
100.0%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 86 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 Zena. 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 Zena 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 Zena sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Zena 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, 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.