City · Lincoln County, Oklahoma

Stroud, Oklahoma

Stroud is a city in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, part of the Oklahoma City, OK metro area. It has 2,793 residents. Stroud, Oklahoma has a quality-of-life score of 12 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,815 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oklahoma it ranks #151 of 237 cities and towns. It ranks best on time spent in the emergency room (low), job growth (high) and home price to income ratio (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), primary care physicians (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (low).

12Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,815 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oklahoma: #151 of 237 in OK
Population: 2,793 (2020-2024)
Land area: 12 mi²
Density: 236.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 4071000

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.

Safety27#11,377/15,637
Economy16#13,166/15,631
Housing93#1,080/14,977
Health12#13,746/15,609
Healthcare9#14,240/15,650
Environment9#14,046/15,453
Education38#9,684/15,649
Infrastructure19#12,719/15,650
Community22#12,140/15,651
Leisure & amenities10#14,090/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Stroud, Oklahoma ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lincoln 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 · low102 min
96/100Oklahoma 122 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLincoln County value
Job growth · high3.4%
95/100Oklahoma 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLincoln County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.0×
91/100Oklahoma 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Preventable hospital stays · low1,783 /100k
91/100Oklahoma 3,055 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value
Public libraries · high1.4 /10k
85/100Oklahoma 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLincoln County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.60%
80/100Oklahoma 0.79%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high20.0
1/100Oklahoma 15.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationLincoln County value
Primary care physicians · low18 /100k
3/100Oklahoma 60 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.1 /10k
4/100Oklahoma 3.7 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLincoln County value
Child poverty rate · high39.8%
5/100Oklahoma 18.7%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Adult obesity · high44.1%
6/100Oklahoma 40.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Traffic deaths · high30.9 /100k
7/100Oklahoma 17.3 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataLincoln County value

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
66.9% (2015-2019) → 85.9% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateWorsening
22.2% (2015-2019) → 39.7% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
5.9 /1k (2021) → 1.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−76%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
37.6% (2015-2019) → 46.1% (2020-2024)
+8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
16.6% (2015-2019) → 24.0% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$45,292 (2015-2019) → $61,250 (2020-2024)
+35%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Stroud, Oklahoma improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 12 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+19 points66.9% → 85.9%
Household income+35%$45,292 → $61,250

Declined1

Child poverty+18 points22.2% → 39.7%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Stroud, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.0 min2015-2019	23.4 min2020-2024	+2.4 min	Within the margin of error	24%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.1%2015-2019	13.3%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Broadband subscriptions	66.9%2015-2019	85.9%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
Child poverty rate	22.2%2015-2019	39.7%2020-2024	+18 points	Declined	6%
Effective property tax rate	0.62%2015-2019	0.60%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	19%
High school diploma or higher	89.5%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	2.0×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	68%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4032015-2019	0.4602020-2024	+0.058	Within the margin of error	14%
Median household income	$45,2922015-2019	$61,2502020-2024	+35%	Improved	66%
Poverty rate	16.6%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.2%2015-2019	26.0%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Rent-burdened households	37.6%2015-2019	46.1%2020-2024	+8.6 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Unemployment rate	7.6%2015-2019	5.4%2020-2024	−2.2 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	18.6%2015-2019	13.3%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Within the margin of error	88%

“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 Stroud, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Stroud, 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, Stroud, Oklahoma itself moved −8.3 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

2,793 residents (±23)

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

1,008 households (±82)

Stroud, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k18%180
$25k–50k26%264
$50k–75k18%179

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,008 households (±82)

Stroud, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own71%720
Rent29%288

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+10.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,245 workers (±85)

Stroud, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone78%967
Carpool13%†164
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 Oklahoma 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 Lincoln County, the county holding most of Stroud's residents.

Lincoln County has 593 employer establishments, 171 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.72× Oklahoma's), with 5,625 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,733. The Census Bureau also counts 2,710 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 593; 2,710 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 171; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 5,625
Average annual pay: $49,733; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	69	19.9	1.29×More than typical	268	$42,657	359
Restaurants and other eating places	40	11.5	0.63×Fewer than typical	546	$16,956	17
Religious organizations	33	9.5	1.72×More than typical	105	$18,381	—
Building equipment contractors	30	8.7	1.44×More than typical	154	$45,571	64
Truck transportation	27	7.8	1.54×More than typical	256	$63,023	101
Full-service restaurants	24	6.9	0.90×About typical	230	$14,952	4
Ambulatory health care services	19	5.5	0.26×Fewer than typical	166	$52,133	73
Gasoline stations	19	5.5	1.69×More than typical	158	$28,038	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	19	5.5	1.25×About typical	63	$40,810	47
Other specialty trade contractors	18	5.2	2.07×More than typical	62	$40,371	140
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	15	4.3	1.75×More than typical	102	$45,157	25
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	15	4.3	1.37×More than typical	39	$38,846	81

Rank places for an industry Open Lincoln County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 34,641 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 $373K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Stroud, Oklahoma: $134 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $373K; −31% vs FY2025
Per resident: $134; US $1,994
Sole-source: 22%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Department of the Air Force$234.2K63%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$129.9K35%
Defense Logistics Agency$10.3K2.8%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

35.8KFY2017
12.6KFY2018
80.3KFY2019
111.2KFY2020
24.6KFY2021
434.5KFY2022
211.1KFY2023
413.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$364.1K98%
Other leather and allied product manufacturing · 3169$7,4592.0%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$1,7170.5%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$1,1700.3%

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

Stroud, Oklahoma's figures are part of those of Lincoln County, OK and Creek County, OK ($10.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Lincoln 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.

Stroud, Oklahoma is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

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.

Lincoln County17100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Oklahoma City, OK52

Other cities and towns in Lincoln 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/4071000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends