City · Garvin County, Oklahoma

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma

Pauls Valley is a city in Garvin County, Oklahoma. It has 6,062 residents. Pauls Valley, Oklahoma has a quality-of-life score of 11 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,924 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oklahoma it ranks #157 of 237 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), rent as share of income (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on arts, entertainment and recreation (low), life expectancy (low) and uninsured residents (under 65) (high).

11Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,924 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oklahoma: #157 of 237 in OK
Population: 6,062 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 728.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 4057550

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety17#13,006/15,637
Economy5#14,779/15,631
Housing92#1,145/14,977
Health4#14,983/15,609
Healthcare7#14,528/15,650
Environment10#13,833/15,453
Education24#11,866/15,649
Infrastructure29#11,075/15,650
Community35#10,144/15,651
Leisure & amenities29#11,058/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Home price to income ratio · low2.0×
93/100Oklahoma 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent as share of income · low24.2%
91/100Oklahoma 28.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100Oklahoma 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesGarvin County value
Social associations · high14.7 /10k
90/100Oklahoma 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGarvin County value
Rent-burdened households · low42.9%
85/100Oklahoma 46.3%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Grocery stores · high2.3 /10k
82/100Oklahoma 1.2 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGarvin County value

Weaknesses

Arts, entertainment and recreation · low0.8 /10k
2/100Oklahoma 3.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGarvin County value
Life expectancy · low70.6 yrs
4/100Oklahoma 74.0 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGarvin County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high22.4%
4/100Oklahoma 14.4%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Injury deaths · high144 /100k
4/100Oklahoma 107 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGarvin County value
Premature death · high14,641 /100k
5/100Oklahoma 10,827 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGarvin County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low39.8%
5/100Oklahoma 70.7%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGarvin County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
0.5 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.0% (2015-2019) → 88.0% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
32.8% (2015-2019) → 42.9% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$40,897 (2015-2019) → $50,357 (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateWorsening
22.2% (2015-2019) → 24.4% (2020-2024)
+2.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Home price to income ratioImproving
2.2× (2015-2019) → 2.0× (2020-2024)
−9.4%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 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.

Improved2

Broadband+16 points72.0% → 88.0%
Household income+23%$40,897 → $50,357

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.7 min2015-2019	22.5 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.2%2015-2019	16.9%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Broadband subscriptions	72.0%2015-2019	88.0%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	82%
Child poverty rate	29.8%2015-2019	30.6%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Effective property tax rate	0.59%2015-2019	0.68%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	7%
High school diploma or higher	80.3%2015-2019	79.6%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	86%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4652015-2019	0.4792020-2024	+0.014	Within the margin of error	39%
Median household income	$40,8972015-2019	$50,3572020-2024	+23%	Improved	40%
Poverty rate	22.2%2015-2019	24.4%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.6%2015-2019	24.2%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Rent-burdened households	32.8%2015-2019	42.9%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Unemployment rate	3.5%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	23.4%2015-2019	22.4%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	59%

“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 Pauls Valley, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pauls Valley, 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, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma itself moved −2.7 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

6,062 residents (±30)

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

2,466 households (±159)

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k26%636
$25k–50k23%574
$50k–75k25%623

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,466 households (±159)

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own50%1,234
Rent50%1,232

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,516 workers (±190)

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone84%2,118
Carpool8.8%†221
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 Garvin County, the county holding most of Pauls Valley's residents.

Garvin County has 697 employer establishments, 268 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 1.13× Oklahoma's), with 7,848 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,934. The Census Bureau also counts 2,237 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 697; 2,237 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 268; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 7,848
Average annual pay: $53,934; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	52	20	1.29×More than typical	402	$46,900	276
Restaurants and other eating places	46	17.7	0.96×About typical	848	$17,360	9
Ambulatory health care services	42	16.2	0.78×Fewer than typical	355	$46,904	68
Religious organizations	38	14.6	2.64×More than typical	124	$19,145	—
Full-service restaurants	24	9.2	1.20×About typical	421	$16,354	5
Building equipment contractors	23	8.9	1.47×More than typical	148	$50,034	44
Truck transportation	23	8.9	1.75×More than typical	88	$68,352	109
Gasoline stations	20	7.7	2.37×More than typical	216	$26,097	3
Insurance agencies and brokerages	19	7.3	1.66×More than typical	45	$42,244	41
Legal services	19	7.3	1.36×More than typical	52	$31,058	9
Limited-service restaurants	19	7.3	0.91×About typical	405	$18,612	4
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	15	5.8	1.42×More than typical	59	$37,831	28

Rank places for an industry Open Garvin County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 25,984 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 $28.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma: $4.67 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $28.3K; −6.9% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4.67; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 71%; 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

Bureau of Land Management$27.3K96%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$1,0233.6%

Top recipients

GREEN RUSH ORGANIC FARMS INC.$31.6K100%
JENNINGS PHIL D$21.1K75%
ACG SYSTEMS, INC.$1,0233.6%
FRONTIER TRADING INC-$13.430.0%
GRASSLAND VETERINARY SERVICE, PLLC-$1,1050.0%

Spending by fiscal year

21KFY2017
27.4KFY2018
7.9KFY2019
23.7KFY2020
4.5KFY2021
10.1KFY2022
11.6KFY2023
23.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for animal production · 1152$21.1K75%
Other crop farming · 1119$7,25526%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$1,0233.6%

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 Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, so they do not add up across cities.

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma's figures are part of those of Garvin County, OK ($475.8K in FY2026), never added to them: 6.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Garvin 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.

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

House

Tom ColeR-OK-4 · 100% of residentsWith party 96%Missed 1.2%

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.

Garvin County22100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Garvin 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/4057550

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends