City · Beckham County, Oklahoma

Sayre, Oklahoma

Sayre is a city in Beckham County, Oklahoma, part of the Elk City, OK metro area. It has 4,796 residents. Sayre, Oklahoma has a quality-of-life score of 19 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,674 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oklahoma it ranks #88 of 237 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), homicide rate (low) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on poverty rate (high), child poverty rate (high) and dental care shortage (high).

19Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,674 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oklahoma: #88 of 237 in OK
Population: 4,796 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 889.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 4065700

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety67#5,232/15,637
Economy2#15,365/15,631
Housing75#3,707/14,977
Health8#14,405/15,609
Healthcare19#12,714/15,650
Environment37#9,730/15,453
Education10#14,012/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,235/15,650
Community35#10,250/15,651
Leisure & amenities38#9,768/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Sayre, Oklahoma ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Beckham 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 · low88 min
99/100Oklahoma 122 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBeckham County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Oklahoma 6.4 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBeckham County value
Pharmacies · high2.7 /10k
93/100Oklahoma 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBeckham County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
92/100Oklahoma 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Average commute time · low17.9 min
89/100Oklahoma 22.4 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Social associations · high14.1 /10k
87/100Oklahoma 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBeckham County value

Weaknesses

Poverty rate · high43.8%
1/100Oklahoma 14.8%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Child poverty rate · high66.2%
1/100Oklahoma 18.7%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100Oklahoma 7.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBeckham County value
Voter turnout · low46.6%
2/100Oklahoma 53.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionBeckham County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low5.3%
2/100Oklahoma 28.4%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Primary care shortage · high19.0
3/100Oklahoma 11.0United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBeckham County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
4,549 (2015-2019) → 4,796 (2020-2024)
+5.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
11.0% (2015-2019) → 66.2% (2020-2024)
+55 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateWorsening
10.0% (2015-2019) → 43.8% (2020-2024)
+34 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
30.3% (2015-2019) → 54.5% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.2 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
74.3% (2015-2019) → 90.0% (2020-2024)
+16 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, Sayre, Oklahoma improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 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.

Improved1

Broadband+16 points74.3% → 90.0%

Declined3

Poverty+34 points10.0% → 43.8%
Bachelor's+−6.8 points12.1% → 5.3%
Rent burden+24 points30.3% → 54.5%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Sayre, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.4 min2015-2019	17.8 min2020-2024	−5.6 min	Within the margin of error	92%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.1%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	−6.8 points	Declined	4%
Broadband subscriptions	74.3%2015-2019	90.0%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	82%
Effective property tax rate	0.76%2015-2019	0.74%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	77.0%2015-2019	71.0%2020-2024	−6 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	69%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4382015-2019	0.5142020-2024	+0.075	Within the margin of error	9%
Median household income	$46,4062015-2019	$41,2272020-2024	−11%	Within the margin of error	3%
Poverty rate	10.0%2015-2019	43.8%2020-2024	+34 points	Declined	0%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.1%2015-2019	33.5%2020-2024	+10 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Rent-burdened households	30.3%2015-2019	54.5%2020-2024	+24 points	Declined	5%
Unemployment rate	5.7%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	+9 points	Within the margin of error	1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.0%2015-2019	20.4%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	6%

“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 Sayre, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sayre, 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, Sayre, Oklahoma itself moved −15.2 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

4,796 residents (±24)

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

859 households (±119)

Sayre, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k37%†321
$25k–50k25%†214
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

859 households (±119)

Sayre, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own56%479
Rent44%380

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

718 workers (±128)

Sayre, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone81%585
Carpool9.3%†67
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Elk City, OK

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 Beckham County, the county holding most of Sayre's residents.

Beckham County has 690 employer establishments, 312 for every 10,000 residents (1.26× the US rate of 248; 1.32× Oklahoma's), with 6,782 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,801. The Census Bureau also counts 1,753 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 690; 1,753 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 312; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 6,782
Average annual pay: $47,801; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	61	27.6	1.32×More than typical	407	$54,563	59
Restaurants and other eating places	42	19	1.04×About typical	738	$15,511	16
Truck transportation	32	14.5	2.86×More than typical	383	$76,554	68
Religious organizations	31	14	2.53×More than typical	151	$19,278	—
Specialty trade contractors	24	10.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	205	$50,771	163
Automotive repair and maintenance	21	9.5	1.89×More than typical	105	$50,257	45
Limited-service restaurants	21	9.5	1.19×About typical	467	$16,223	4
Offices of physicians	20	9.1	1.40×More than typical	129	$68,093	7
Gasoline stations	19	8.6	2.65×More than typical	444	$27,214	—
Lessors of real estate	18	8.1	0.66×Fewer than typical	88	$26,739	162
Offices of other health practitioners	18	8.1	1.34×More than typical	65	$35,800	28
Full-service restaurants	16	7.2	0.94×About typical	221	$13,900	10

Rank places for an industry Open Beckham County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 22,094 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sayre, Oklahoma: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

517.6FY2021

What was bought

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 Sayre, Oklahoma, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Beckham 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.

Sayre, 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.

Beckham County26100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Elk City, OK27

Other cities and towns in Beckham 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/4065700

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends