AreaProfile

Tulsa, OK

Metro Area Profile

1,037,534 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Tulsa, OK metropolitan area.

65
Area Score
Top 49% of 361 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity257th of 361 published metros46
GrowthTop 20% of 440 published metros68
Housing affordabilityTop 32% of 441 published metros96
Climate294th of 441 published metros62
Physical resilience270th of 441 published metros50
AccessTop 31% of 441 published metros93
Economic stabilityTop 46% of 441 published metros62
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 4.5% and the Opportunity signal places Tulsa in the bottom 29%.

A major airport is 17 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

Its Area Score of 65 places Tulsa in the top 49% of published metro profiles.

At a glance

Population
1,037,534
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$69,359
Top 43% nationally
Density
165/sq mi
6270.3 sq mi of land
Median age
37.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Tulsa, OK
Nearest major airport
TUL
17 mi · Tulsa Intl
Median home value
$221,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.5% is lower than 36% of the 361 measured US metros.

Employment fell 2.0% over the past year, to 513,636 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$713$69,359Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$681$38,716Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate13.8%Top 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.7 minBottom 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher30.5%Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment513,636Top 14%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.5%Top 35%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.0%Bottom 18%June 2026
Labor force537,903Top 14%June 2026
Labor force participation63.5%Top 27%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$59,070Bottom 36%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$46,670Bottom 36%2025 OEWS
Metro employment458,730Top 14%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)1.2%Top 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.5%Top 36%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/065.12.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.5% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Tulsa, OK
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers12,760$26,460
Retail Salespersons12,110$29,810
General and Operations Managers11,840$96,150
Registered Nurses10,880$84,790
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand9,990$36,980
Customer Service Representatives9,800$38,560

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,078 takes 19% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.2 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
18.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,078
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$221,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.20Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate65.5%Bottom 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±180447,008Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$7$1,078Top 34%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$1,480$221,700Top 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.7%Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.1%Bottom 32%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
68/ 100
Top 20% of 440 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured 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 grown 4% since 2020, reaching 1,059,803 in 2024.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 4.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
5,117
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.9
Top 33% nationally
Year over year
+13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
32.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
202020212022202320241060k1017k
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.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 28°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.0 inches, including 8.7 inches of snow.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TULSA INTL AP, 16.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation41.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall8.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low28°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

50 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, ice storm and strong wind.

Ice stormElevated
HailModerate
WildfireModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Strong windModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, tornado, cold wave, winter weather, lightning, earthquake, landslide, hurricane.

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.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 17 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tulsa IntlTUL17 mi10,000 ft
Enid Woodring RgnlWDG90 mi8,613 ft
OKC Will Rogers IntlOKC100 mi9,802 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
65
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Compare

Put Tulsa side by side with a similar place.

Tulsa vs Oklahoma CityTulsa vs WichitaTulsa vs BirminghamTulsa vs Odessa

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 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 browse every source.