Town · Le Flore County, Oklahoma

Panama, Oklahoma

Panama is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma. It has 1,415 residents. Panama, Oklahoma has a quality-of-life score of 3 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,234 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oklahoma it ranks #221 of 237 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), effective property tax rate (low) and job growth (high). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), average weekly wage (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (low).

3Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,234 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oklahoma: #221 of 237 in OK
Population: 1,415 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 626.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4056900

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.

Safety16#13,122/15,637
Economy6#14,666/15,631
Housing63#5,493/14,977
Health2#15,337/15,609
Healthcare5#14,851/15,650
Environment15#13,197/15,453
Education16#13,170/15,649
Infrastructure29#11,170/15,650
Community8#14,407/15,651
Leisure & amenities2#15,411/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Panama, Oklahoma ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Le Flore 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 · low111 min
92/100Oklahoma 122 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLe Flore County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.55%
84/100Oklahoma 0.79%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Job growth · high1.4%
83/100Oklahoma 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLe Flore County value
Public libraries · high1.2 /10k
81/100Oklahoma 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLe Flore County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100Oklahoma 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLe Flore County value
Average commute time · low26.2 min
76/100Oklahoma 22.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high4,988 /100k
2/100Oklahoma 3,055 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLe Flore County value
Average weekly wage · low$840
2/100Oklahoma $1,173United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLe Flore County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low7.0%
3/100Oklahoma 28.4%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Access to exercise opportunities · low32.0%
3/100Oklahoma 70.7%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLe Flore County value
Poverty rate · high29.0%
4/100Oklahoma 14.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Oklahoma 15.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLe Flore County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,334 (2015-2019) → 1,415 (2020-2024)
+6.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
59.3% (2015-2019) → 92.7% (2020-2024)
+33 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
44.3% (2015-2019) → 62.3% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$31,346 (2015-2019) → $47,136 (2020-2024)
+50%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
78.9% (2015-2019) → 87.8% (2020-2024)
+8.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.5% (2015-2019) → 36.5% (2020-2024)
+8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Panama, Oklahoma improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved3

Broadband+33 points59.3% → 92.7%
High school++8.8 points78.9% → 87.8%
Household income+50%$31,346 → $47,136

Declined2

Rent burden+18 points44.3% → 62.3%
Rent / income+8 points28.5% → 36.5%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Panama, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.2 min2015-2019	26.2 min2020-2024	+2.0 min	Within the margin of error	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.7%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Broadband subscriptions	59.3%2015-2019	92.7%2020-2024	+33 points	Improved	99%
Child poverty rate	43.7%2015-2019	45.1%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	32%
High school diploma or higher	78.9%2015-2019	87.8%2020-2024	+8.8 points	Improved	93%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	34%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4412015-2019	0.3762020-2024	−0.066	Within the margin of error	89%
Median household income	$31,3462015-2019	$47,1362020-2024	+50%	Improved	85%
Poverty rate	29.5%2015-2019	29.0%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	28.5%2015-2019	36.5%2020-2024	+8 points	Declined	13%
Rent-burdened households	44.3%2015-2019	62.3%2020-2024	+18 points	Declined	11%
Unemployment rate	6.4%2015-2019	6.2%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.0%2015-2019	22.3%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“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 Panama, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Panama, 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, Panama, Oklahoma itself moved +1.2 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

1,415 residents (±245)

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

592 households (±141)

Panama, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k27%162
$25k–50k26%†154
$50k–75k13%†75

Homes

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

Owners and renters

592 households (±141)

Panama, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own65%†387
Rent35%205

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

537 workers (±160)

Panama, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone84%†453
Carpool6.1%†33
Public transit

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 Le Flore County, the county holding most of Panama's residents.

Le Flore County has 798 employer establishments, 161 for every 10,000 residents (0.65× the US rate of 248; 0.68× Oklahoma's), with 6,665 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,855. The Census Bureau also counts 3,455 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 798; 3,455 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 161; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 6,665
Average annual pay: $37,855; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	66	13.4	0.64×Fewer than typical	359	$44,058	128
Specialty trade contractors	54	10.9	0.71×Fewer than typical	384	$47,987	454
Restaurants and other eating places	49	9.9	0.54×Fewer than typical	607	$24,201	17
Religious organizations	35	7.1	1.28×More than typical	165	$20,194	—
Building equipment contractors	32	6.5	1.08×About typical	150	$44,780	73
Management, scientific and technical consulting	30	6.1	0.90×About typical	57	$44,088	53
Architectural, engineering and related services	29	5.9	1.68×More than typical	56	$33,821	23
Offices of other health practitioners	26	5.3	0.87×About typical	74	$38,068	71
Full-service restaurants	25	5.1	0.66×Fewer than typical	158	$16,728	6
General merchandise stores	23	4.7	2.63×More than typical	488	$28,156	25
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	22	4.5	1.35×More than typical	129	$44,171	42
Insurance agencies and brokerages	21	4.2	0.97×About typical	60	$41,217	42

Rank places for an industry Open Le Flore County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 49,437 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: Panama is mostly in Le Flore County.

See federal money in Le Flore 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.

Panama, 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.

Le Flore County2100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Le Flore 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/4056900

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends