Ponca City, OK

Micro Area Profile

43,625 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Ponca City, OK micropolitan area.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 18% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
Opportunity722nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured29
Schools463rd of 695 metro and micro areas measured38
Growth641st of 834 metro and micro areas measured34
Housing affordabilityTop 9% of 835 metro and micro areas measured84
Climate621st of 835 metro and micro areas measured60
Physical resilience458th of 835 metro and micro areas measured51
Access459th of 835 metro and micro areas measured75
Economic stability695th of 835 metro and micro areas measured23
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 4.5% and the Opportunity signal places Ponca City in the bottom 14%.

In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.4 students for every teacher.

32 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 7% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

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
43,625
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$58,423
Bottom 23% nationally
Density
47/sq mi
919.6 sq mi of land
Median age
38.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Oklahoma
Nearest major airport
WDG
47 mi · Enid Woodring Rgnl
Median home value
$124,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.5% — higher than in all but 38% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 2.8% over the past year, to 18,944 employed residents.

Median household income of $58,423 is lower than in 77% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,0142024 ACS 5-Year$58,423Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,1192024 ACS 5-Year$31,071Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year15.8%Bottom 27%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year19.5 minTop 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.2%Bottom 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.8%79th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202618,944Bottom 22%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.1%Top 48%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.8%Bottom 13%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202619,83622nd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.9%Bottom 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.9%Bottom 5%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.5%Bottom 38%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year3.7%4th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.52.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.5% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, 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.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 31% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.4 students for every full-time teacher across 22 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
22
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
34.0%
Top 40% in Oklahoma
Reading proficiency
31.4%
Bottom 15% in Oklahoma
The 12 largest of 22 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Ponca City HSPONCA CITY1,49819.727%30%
Ponca City West MSPONCA CITY60715.639%33%
Blackwell ESBLACKWELL50714.552%42%
Tonkawa ESTONKAWA40214.952%42%
Blackwell HSBLACKWELL35316.817%22%
Ponca City East MSPONCA CITY32016.028%31%
Newkirk ESNEWKIRK31715.152%42%
Lincoln ESPONCA CITY31616.632%17%
Union ESPONCA CITY27216.022%27%
E. M. Trout ESPONCA CITY26719.147%42%
Woodlands ESPONCA CITY25818.457%52%
Roosevelt ESPONCA CITY25216.847%37%

75.7% 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 $821 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.66% 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 64% of the median household income here of $58,423.

The typical renter household here spends 25% 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 $124,700 costs 1.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $70,024, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
25.2%
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
$124,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Ponca City’s median household income of $58,423, 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 ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year1.8Top 5%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.2%45th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1042024 ACS 5-Year20,91330th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$714Top 8%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,250Top 20%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$937Top 13%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$272024 ACS 5-Year$842Top 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,8162024 ACS 5-Year$124,7007th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$492024 ACS 5-Year$8218th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,2062024 ACS 5-Year$70,024Bottom 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.66%32nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.2%Top 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1202024 ACS 5-Year65239th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%65th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year16.7%97th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2842024 ACS 5-Year4,13746th 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

34/ 100
Ranks 641 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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 43,437 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 32 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
32
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 13% nationally
Year over year
+7%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202444k43k
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 for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 25°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.6 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PONCA CITY MUNI AP, 5.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals25°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

51 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 31% 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.

Ice stormElevated
Cold waveModerate
TornadoModerate
HailHigh
WildfireModerate
DroughtModerate
Strong windModerate

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

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

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Enid Woodring Rgnl at 47 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year84.4%Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle47 miBottom 42%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Top 43%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%Bottom 21%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Enid Woodring RgnlWDG47 mi8,613 ft
Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower NtlICT60 mi10,302 ft
Beech FactoryBEC61 mi8,001 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
48
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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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