Scores by category

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

Safety20#12,539/15,637
Economy2#15,346/15,631
Housing99#83/14,977
Health1#15,398/15,609
Healthcare15#13,311/15,650
Environment3#14,934/15,453
Education35#10,126/15,649
Infrastructure4#14,953/15,650
Community29#11,095/15,651
Leisure & amenities11#13,936/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Time spent in the emergency room · low92 min
98/100Oklahoma 122 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesNowata County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
94/100Oklahoma 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent-burdened households · low30.0%
91/100Oklahoma 46.3%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
New homes permitted · high9.0 /1k
86/100Oklahoma 3.6 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Rent as share of income · low23.5%
86/100Oklahoma 28.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Distance to an emergency room · low3.6 mi
85/100Oklahoma 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesNowata County value

Weaknesses

Primary care physicians · low11 /100k
1/100Oklahoma 60 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNowata County value
Dentists · low11 /100k
1/100Oklahoma 65 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNowata County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.0 /10k
3/100Oklahoma 3.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNowata County value
Life expectancy · low70.4 yrs
3/100Oklahoma 74.0 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNowata County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Oklahoma 3.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyNowata County value
Average weekly wage · low$873
4/100Oklahoma $1,173United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNowata County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.7 /1k (2021) → 9.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+431%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
58.7% (2015-2019) → 79.9% (2020-2024)
+21 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
46.9% (2015-2019) → 30.0% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$32,404 (2015-2019) → $47,776 (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
27.3% (2015-2019) → 20.9% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
7.0% (2015-2019) → 13.2% (2020-2024)
+6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

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, Nowata, Oklahoma improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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.

Improved4

Broadband+21 points58.7% → 79.9%
Uninsured−6.3 points27.3% → 20.9%
Household income+47%$32,404 → $47,776
Bachelor's++6.2 points7.0% → 13.2%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Nowata, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.1 min2015-2019	26.5 min2020-2024	+0.4 min	Within the margin of error	43%
Bachelor's degree or higher	7.0%2015-2019	13.2%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Improved	75%
Broadband subscriptions	58.7%2015-2019	79.9%2020-2024	+21 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	27.9%2015-2019	29.1%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Effective property tax rate	0.90%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
High school diploma or higher	85.4%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	86%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4362015-2019	0.4542020-2024	+0.018	Within the margin of error	35%
Median household income	$32,4042015-2019	$47,7762020-2024	+47%	Improved	82%
Poverty rate	21.0%2015-2019	25.5%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Rent as share of income	28.1%2015-2019	23.5%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Rent-burdened households	46.9%2015-2019	30.0%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Unemployment rate	7.8%2015-2019	7.8%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	27.3%2015-2019	20.9%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Improved	91%

“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 Nowata, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Nowata, 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, Nowata, Oklahoma itself moved +11.2 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

3,542 residents (±34)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69
50–59†
40–49†
30–39
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 women (+2.4 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

3,542 residents (±34)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

White64%2,261
Black3.2%†115
Hispanic or Latino4.9%†173

Education

2,422 residents (±105)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

No high school diploma9.6%†232
High school or GED45%1,088
Some college20%483

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

1,411 households (±93)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k31%437
$25k–50k24%345
$50k–75k19%266
$75k–100k11%†152
$100k–150k9.8%†138
$150k–200k2.5%†35
$200k or more2.7%†38

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−11.0 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,411 households (±93)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own61%861
Rent39%550

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

440 households (±89)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $75050%†218
$750–1,00034%†149
$1,000–1,50013%†59

Home values

861 homes (±96)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $150k76%655
$150k–250k13%†111
$250k–400k5.6%†48

Age of homes

1,735 homes (±101)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

2010 or later3.4%†59
2000–20098.6%†149
1980–199921%360

Size of homes

1,735 homes (±101)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Studio4.9%†85
1 bedroom9.9%†172
2 bedrooms33%577

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,327 workers (±144)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone70%925
Carpool20%†260
Public transit0.1%†1
Walk1.7%†22
Bike0.0%0
Work from home8.3%†110
Other0.7%†9

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−9.3 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

1,217 workers (±137)

Nowata, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under 15 min35%429
15–29 min20%†241
30–44 min18%†223

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Nowata County, the county holding most of Nowata's residents.

Nowata County has 153 employer establishments, 162 for every 10,000 residents (0.65× the US rate of 248; 0.68× Oklahoma's), with 1,582 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,987. The Census Bureau also counts 683 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 153; 683 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 162; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 1,582
Average annual pay: $42,987; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	11	11.6	2.10×More than typical	29	$18,034	—
Construction of buildings	8	8.5	1.12×Too few to compare	17	$32,529	35
Gasoline stations	8	8.5	2.61×Too few to compare	84	$24,619	—
Restaurants and other eating places	7	7.4	0.40×Too few to compare	82	$17,512	4
Specialty trade contractors	7	7.4	0.48×Too few to compare	25	$39,080	61
Ambulatory health care services	6	6.3	0.30×Too few to compare	96	$64,073	12
Banks and credit unions	4	4.2	1.31×Too few to compare	104	$83,837	—
Full-service restaurants	4	4.2	0.55×Too few to compare	33	$19,636	—
Lessors of real estate	4	4.2	0.34×Too few to compare	12	$43,167	50
Veterinary services	4	4.2	4.15×Too few to compare	27	$20,556	—
Auto parts, accessories and tire stores	3	3.2	1.82×Too few to compare	13	$30,308	—
Building equipment contractors	3	3.2	0.53×Too few to compare	14	$48,643	11

Rank places for an industry Open Nowata County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,462 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

In FY2026, an estimated $24.7K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Nowata, Oklahoma: $6.98 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $24.7K; −9% vs FY2025
Per resident: $6.98; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 75%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$13.2K53%
Bureau of Land Management$8,31634%
Federal Aviation Administration$3,19713%

Top recipients

DISAN ENGINEERING CORP$16.4K66%
MOORE CONNIE C$8,31634%

Spending by fiscal year

24KFY2017
31.1KFY2018
18.8KFY2019
25.1KFY2020
20.6KFY2021
38.4KFY2022
35.9KFY2023
22.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for animal production · 1152$8,31634%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$5,30721%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$4,84620%
Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359$3,19713%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$3,05512%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Nowata, Oklahoma, so they do not add up across cities.

Nowata, Oklahoma's figures are part of those of Nowata County, OK ($1.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.6% of that total.

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

See federal money in Nowata 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.

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

House

Josh BrecheenR-OK-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 4.7%

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.

Nowata County11100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Nowata 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/4052900

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends