Town · Alfalfa County, Oklahoma

Helena, Oklahoma

Helena is a town in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. It has 1,557 residents. Helena, Oklahoma has a quality-of-life score of 21 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,334 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oklahoma it ranks #77 of 237 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), home price to income ratio (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on bachelor's degree or higher (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (low) and distance to an emergency room (high).

21Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,334 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oklahoma: #77 of 237 in OK
Population: 1,557 (2020-2024)
Land area: 0 mi²
Density: 3,817.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4033450

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety13#13,618/15,637
Economy21#12,346/15,631
Housing94#831/14,977
Health41#9,193/15,609
Healthcare7#14,607/15,650
Environment13#13,401/15,453
Education40#9,354/15,649
Infrastructure51#7,704/15,650
Community31#10,764/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,291/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Helena, Oklahoma ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Alfalfa 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

Social associations · high28.2 /10k
100/100Oklahoma 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlfalfa County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.1×
100/100Oklahoma 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Job growth · high5.8%
99/100Oklahoma 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataAlfalfa County value
Students per teacher · low10.1×
98/100Oklahoma 16.3×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsAlfalfa County value
Public libraries · high3.5 /10k
97/100Oklahoma 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesAlfalfa County value
Grocery stores · high3.5 /10k
97/100Oklahoma 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlfalfa County value

Weaknesses

Bachelor's degree or higher · low3.7%
1/100Oklahoma 28.4%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.0 /10k
1/100Oklahoma 3.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAlfalfa County value
Distance to an emergency room · high23.3 mi
2/100Oklahoma 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAlfalfa County value
Voter turnout · low47.1%
2/100Oklahoma 53.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionAlfalfa County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low31.6%
3/100Oklahoma 70.7%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlfalfa County value
Primary care physicians · low18 /100k
3/100Oklahoma 60 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAlfalfa County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,423 (2015-2019) → 1,557 (2020-2024)
+9.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 57.1% (2020-2024)
+57 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
17.5% (2015-2019) → 35.6% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.6% (2015-2019) → 91.9% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.293 (2015-2019) → 0.429 (2020-2024)
+46%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Unemployment rateWorsening
1.0% (2015-2019) → 8.7% (2020-2024)
+7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Helena, Oklahoma improved on 1 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 6 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+12 points79.6% → 91.9%

Declined1

Inequality+0.1360.293 → 0.429

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Helena, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.8 min2015-2019	26.3 min2020-2024	+2.4 min	Within the margin of error	24%
Bachelor's degree or higher	6.1%2015-2019	3.7%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Broadband subscriptions	79.6%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	70%
Effective property tax rate	0.61%2015-2019	0.73%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	5%
High school diploma or higher	73.7%2015-2019	75.7%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Home price to income ratio	1.0×2015-2019	1.1×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	75%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.2932015-2019	0.4292020-2024	+0.136	Declined	2%
Median household income	$73,3592015-2019	$61,5002020-2024	−16%	Within the margin of error	2%

“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 Helena, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Helena, 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, Helena, Oklahoma itself moved −14.4 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,557 residents (±94)

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

136 households (±34)

Helena, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k35%†47
$25k–50k8.1%†11
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

136 households (±34)

Helena, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own85%116
Rent15%†20

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

115 workers (±29)

Helena, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone57%†65
Carpool18%†21
Public transit1.7%

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 Alfalfa County, the county holding most of Helena's residents.

Alfalfa County has 121 employer establishments, 213 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248; 0.90× Oklahoma's), with 742 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,764. The Census Bureau also counts 345 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 121; 345 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 213; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 742
Average annual pay: $48,764; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	16	28.2	5.09×More than typical	42	$14,976	—
Banks and credit unions	8	14.1	4.37×Too few to compare	57	$71,456	—
Gasoline stations	8	14.1	4.35×Too few to compare	70	$28,357	—
Ambulatory health care services	6	10.6	0.51×Too few to compare	91	$47,231	5
Specialty trade contractors	6	10.6	0.68×Too few to compare	59	$82,339	31
Restaurants and other eating places	5	8.8	0.48×Too few to compare	33	$15,061	7
Automotive repair and maintenance	3	5.3	1.05×Too few to compare	13	$29,615	6
Building equipment contractors	3	5.3	0.88×Too few to compare	22	$52,227	9
Full-service restaurants	3	5.3	0.69×Too few to compare	10	$20,900	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	3	5.3	1.21×Too few to compare	12	$53,750	—
Landscaping services	3	5.3	1.51×Too few to compare	3	$32,667	12
Legal services	3	5.3	0.98×Too few to compare	8	$43,500	—

Rank places for an industry Open Alfalfa County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,668 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: Helena is mostly in Alfalfa County.

See federal money in Alfalfa 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.

Helena, 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.

Alfalfa County33100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Alfalfa 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
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/4033450

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends