City · Woods County, Oklahoma

Alva, Oklahoma

Alva is a city in Woods County, Oklahoma. It has 4,982 residents. Alva, Oklahoma has a quality-of-life score of 34 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,291 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oklahoma it ranks #37 of 237 cities and towns. It ranks best on traffic deaths (low), suicide rate (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), gyms and fitness centers (low) and poverty rate (high).

34Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,291 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oklahoma: #37 of 237 in OK
Population: 4,982 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 790.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4001800

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety50#7,757/15,637
Economy3#15,179/15,631
Housing49#7,609/14,977
Health44#8,779/15,609
Healthcare33#10,552/15,650
Environment36#9,817/15,453
Education90#1,523/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,248/15,650
Community42#9,062/15,651
Leisure & amenities36#9,997/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Alva, Oklahoma ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Woods County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Traffic deaths · low2.3 /100k
100/100Oklahoma 17.3 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataWoods County value
Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Oklahoma 19.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWoods County value
Social associations · high23.4 /10k
99/100Oklahoma 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWoods County value
Average commute time · low11.2 min
99/100Oklahoma 22.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Math scores · high3.52
97/100Oklahoma 2.91United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWoods County value
Reading scores · high3.41
95/100Oklahoma 2.94United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWoods County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Oklahoma 15.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWoods County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Oklahoma 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWoods County value
Poverty rate · high25.9%
6/100Oklahoma 14.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Median household income · low$40,709
6/100Oklahoma $66,124United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Distance to an Amtrak station · high97 mi
10/100Oklahoma 61 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWoods County value
Voter turnout · low54.6%
11/100Oklahoma 53.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionWoods County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
33.3% (2015-2019) → 63.8% (2020-2024)
+30 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
3.4 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateWorsening
8.4% (2015-2019) → 25.2% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.2% (2015-2019) → 39.0% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 3.3× (2020-2024)
+54%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.7% (2015-2019) → 87.4% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Alva, Oklahoma improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Broadband+11 points76.7% → 87.4%

Declined4

Rent / income+16 points23.2% → 39.0%
Rent burden+30 points33.3% → 63.8%
Poverty+10 points15.5% → 25.9%
Price / income+1.2×2.1× → 3.3×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Alva, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	10.5 min2015-2019	11.2 min2020-2024	+0.7 min	Within the margin of error	40%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.3%2015-2019	39.5%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Broadband subscriptions	76.7%2015-2019	87.4%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	63%
Effective property tax rate	0.59%2015-2019	0.59%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	15%
High school diploma or higher	87.7%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	77%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	17%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4502015-2019	0.4732020-2024	+0.023	Within the margin of error	32%
Median household income	$44,6462015-2019	$40,7092020-2024	−8.8%	Within the margin of error	3%
Poverty rate	15.5%2015-2019	25.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Declined	4%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.2%2015-2019	39.0%2020-2024	+16 points	Declined	4%
Rent-burdened households	33.3%2015-2019	63.8%2020-2024	+30 points	Declined	3%
Unemployment rate	4.9%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.5%2015-2019	8.3%2020-2024	−5.1 points	Within the margin of error	87%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Alva, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Alva, Oklahoma in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Alva, Oklahoma itself moved −20.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,982 residents (±18)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,135 households (±154)

Alva, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k26%†549
$25k–50k32%†692
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,135 households (±154)

Alva, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own50%1,069
Rent50%1,066

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−8.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,597 workers (±198)

Alva, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone76%1,963
Carpool12%†311
Public transit0.0%0

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Woods County, the county holding most of Alva's residents.

Woods County has 249 employer establishments, 291 for every 10,000 residents (1.17× the US rate of 248; 1.23× Oklahoma's), with 2,139 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,856. The Census Bureau also counts 745 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 249; 745 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 291; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 2,139
Average annual pay: $44,856; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Woods County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Religious organizations	20	23.4	4.21×More than typical	65	$14,369	—
Restaurants and other eating places	15	17.5	0.95×About typical	235	$17,332	6
Specialty trade contractors	11	12.9	0.83×About typical	28	$52,179	56
Automotive repair and maintenance	9	10.5	2.09×Too few to compare	24	$32,542	14
Insurance agencies and brokerages	8	9.3	2.13×Too few to compare	28	$49,179	7
Ambulatory health care services	7	8.2	0.39×Too few to compare	27	$45,704	24
Banks and credit unions	7	8.2	2.53×Too few to compare	103	$73,330	—
Building equipment contractors	7	8.2	1.36×Too few to compare	13	$49,692	5
Child day care services	7	8.2	3.35×Too few to compare	11	$19,636	18
Gasoline stations	7	8.2	2.52×Too few to compare	85	$20,494	—
Limited-service restaurants	7	8.2	1.02×Too few to compare	118	$19,136	—
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	6	7	1.72×Too few to compare	12	$30,833	13

Rank places for an industry Open Woods County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,557 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Alva is mostly in Woods County.

See federal money in Woods County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Alva, Oklahoma is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Frank D. LucasR-OK-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Woods County48100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Woods County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4001800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends