Altus, OK

Micro Area Profile

24,678 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Altus, OK micropolitan area.

44out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 10% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity616th of 835 metro and micro areas measured39
SchoolsTop 13% of 695 metro and micro areas measured79
Growth820th of 834 metro and micro areas measured9
Housing affordabilityTop 2% of 835 metro and micro areas measured89
Climate726th of 835 metro and micro areas measured55
Physical resilience831st of 835 metro and micro areas measured4
Access542nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured70
Economic stability598th of 835 metro and micro areas measured32
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 3.9% and the Opportunity signal places Altus in the bottom 26%.

Public schools test above most of the state: 41% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 13% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 6 units authorized over the past twelve months, 70% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
24,678
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,799
Bottom 37% nationally
Density
31/sq mi
802.7 sq mi of land
Median age
35.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Oklahoma
Nearest major airport
CSM
53 mi · Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport
Median home value
$158,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.9%, lower than in 59% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 2.1% over the past year, to 11,087 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$5,0052024 ACS 5-Year$62,799Bottom 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,5062024 ACS 5-Year$33,346Bottom 35%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.8%Bottom 26%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year14.2 minTop 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year24.8%Bottom 49%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%80th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202611,087Bottom 6%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.9%Bottom 13%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.1%Bottom 22%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202611,5426th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year77.7%Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.0%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%7th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+1.1%Bottom 4%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.9%Top 41%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.4%16th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.92.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.9% in July 2026. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

41% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 38% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.7 students for every full-time teacher across 16 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
40.8%
Top 5% in Oklahoma
Reading proficiency
37.5%
Top 10% in Oklahoma
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Altus HSALTUS97520.737%36%
Altus JhsALTUS53318.435%40%
Altus Intermediate SchoolALTUS50917.642%41%
Altus Primary SchoolALTUS43617.4——
Altus ESALTUS41617.336%27%
Altus Early Childhood CenterALTUS37216.2——
Rivers ESALTUS35216.077%62%
Navajo ESNAVAJO28016.552%37%
Navajo HSNAVAJO11917.035%45%
Blair ESBLAIR11710.622%22%
Olustee-Eldorado ESOLUSTEE-ELDORADO10010.027%22%
Duke ESDUKE10011.125%25%

63.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Oklahoma’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $941 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.59% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $937, some 11% above the $842 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $937 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,500 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $62,799.

The typical renter household here spends 23% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $842 a month.

A median home at $158,400 costs 1.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,765, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
22.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.8×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$937
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$842
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$158,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Altus’s median household income of $62,799, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year1.8Top 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year59.2%6th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±932024 ACS 5-Year12,0727th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$714Top 8%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,289Top 28%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$937Top 13%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$452024 ACS 5-Year$842Top 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,1292024 ACS 5-Year$158,40021st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$812024 ACS 5-Year$94112th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,3432024 ACS 5-Year$85,765Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.59%24th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.7%Top 2%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±862024 ACS 5-Year26220th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.2%54th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year16.9%97th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2292024 ACS 5-Year2,29724th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

9/ 100
Ranks 820 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 24,541 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 6 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
6
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.2
Bottom 4% nationally
Year over year
−70%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202425k25k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 96°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 28.0 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ALTUS 3S MESONET, 4.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals28.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals96°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

4 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are strong wind, inland flooding and tornado, with strong wind alone responsible for 81% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Strong windHigh
DroughtModerate
Ice stormModerate
HailModerate
TornadoElevated
Winter weatherModerate
Cold waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, wildfire, earthquake, hurricane, inland flooding, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.5%Top 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle53 miBottom 34%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%Top 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Infinity One Oklahoma SpaceportCSM53 mi13,503 ft
Lawton-Fort Sill RgnlLAW57 mi8,599 ft
Sheppard AFB/Wichita Falls MuniSPS67 mi13,100 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
44
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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