Pittsburg County, OK
County Profile
43,561 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Pittsburg County, OK.
Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 14 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 5.9% and the Opportunity signal places Pittsburg County in the bottom 1%.
In the public schools here, 30% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.9 students for every teacher.
43 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 2% 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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 5.9% — higher than in all but 8% of the 1,467 measured US counties.
Unemployment has been rising for 4 consecutive months, most recently 5.9%.
Employment fell 3.4% over the past year, to 15,818 employed residents.
Median household income of $55,310 is lower than in 76% of measured US counties.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023 | $51,143 | 25th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023 | $46,153 | 11th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$2,6682024 ACS 5-Year | $55,310 | Bottom 24%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,1292024 ACS 5-Year | $29,974 | Bottom 25%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per-capita personal income2023 | $45,465 | Bottom 9%of 1,389 | 2023 |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.3% | Bottom 24%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 22.6 min | Top 29%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 20.2% | Bottom 39%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 82.6% | 84th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 15,818 | Bottom 22%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −5.3% | Bottom 6%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −3.4% | Bottom 7%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 16,805 | 23rd percentileof 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 68.1% | Bottom 20%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.2% | 52nd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | +1.4% | Bottom 1%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 5.9% | Bottom 8%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.9% | 33rd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
30% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 32% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 14.9 students for every full-time teacher across 30 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McAlester HS | MCALESTER | 982 | 17.2 | 27% | 37% |
| Will Rogers ES | MCALESTER | 535 | 14.5 | 50% | 40% |
| Randy Hughes Middle School | MCALESTER | 447 | 14.9 | — | — |
| Parker Intermediate Ctr | MCALESTER | 437 | 17.5 | 36% | 41% |
| Krebs Public School | KREBS | 435 | 14.5 | 31% | 32% |
| Frink-Chambers Public School | FRINK-CHAMBERS | 388 | 14.4 | 43% | 55% |
| Puterbaugh Upper Elementary | MCALESTER | 378 | 14.5 | — | — |
| Canadian ES | CANADIAN | 308 | 14.0 | 42% | 32% |
| Hartshorne ES | HARTSHORNE | 304 | 16.0 | 32% | 27% |
| Quinton ES | QUINTON | 260 | 17.3 | 8% | 22% |
| Hartshorne HS | HARTSHORNE | 240 | 15.0 | 5% | 25% |
| Crowder ES | CROWDER | 237 | 15.8 | 27% | 27% |
72.8% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Oklahoma is up 39% over five years, and up 1.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $788 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.50% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $944, some 10% above the $860 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $944 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,800 a year, about 68% of the median household income here of $55,310.
The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $860 a month.
A median home at $156,900 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $67,028, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against Pittsburg County’s median household income of $55,310, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Oklahoma’s figure2026 Q2 | +1.5% | 17th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Oklahoma’s figure2026 Q2 | +38.9% | 24th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Oklahoma’s figure2026 Q2 | +72.0% | 17th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year | 2.3 | Top 41%of 3,217 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 71.4% | 35th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±662024 ACS 5-Year | 22,252 | 68th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $787 | Top 23%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,256 | Top 18%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $944 | Top 13%of 1,423 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$402024 ACS 5-Year | $860 | Top 48%of 3,215 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$5,8052024 ACS 5-Year | $156,900 | 35th percentileof 3,219 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$432024 ACS 5-Year | $788 | 14th percentileof 3,172 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$3,1062024 ACS 5-Year | $67,028 | Bottom 28%of 3,218 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.50% | 17th percentileof 3,126 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.9% | Bottom 29%of 3,216 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1332024 ACS 5-Year | 1,340 | 79th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.0% | 69th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.8% | 78th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2212024 ACS 5-Year | 4,401 | 77th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 43,395 in 2024.
Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 43 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Pittsburg County gained about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $51,143, above the $46,153 of households that moved out.
At 1.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- McIntosh County, OK 145 people · 7.6% of arrivals
- Latimer County, OK 125 people · 6.5% of arrivals
- Oklahoma County, OK 91 people · 4.7% of arrivals
- Tulsa County, OK 75 people · 3.9% of arrivals
- Haskell County, OK 73 people · 3.8% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- McIntosh County, OK 134 people · 7.7% of departures
- Oklahoma County, OK 130 people · 7.5% of departures
- Tulsa County, OK 115 people · 6.6% of departures
- Haskell County, OK 97 people · 5.6% of departures
- Latimer County, OK 93 people · 5.4% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
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 30°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 42.6 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 48, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 65 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 42.6" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 30°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 93°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 2 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 48 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 41°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 36% 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.
Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, inland flooding, cold wave, strong wind, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Pittsburg County has a modeled homicide rate of about 11.2 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 19.9 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 16.4 per 100,000 residents in Pittsburg County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Pittsburg County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
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.
- 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
3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Fort Smith Rgnl at 83 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 87.5% | Top 45%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 83 mi | Bottom 8%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 3 | Bottom 35%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.8% | Bottom 46%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Smith Rgnl | FSM | 83 mi | 9,318 ft |
| Ardmore Muni | ADM | 84 mi | 9,002 ft |
| Tulsa Intl | TUL | 88 mi | 10,000 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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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Income | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.
Cities in Pittsburg County, OK
ZIP areas
Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.