Scores by category

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

Safety10#14,085/15,637
Economy8#14,411/15,631
Housing80#3,011/14,977
Health6#14,606/15,609
Healthcare30#11,018/15,650
Environment9#14,139/15,453
Education29#11,163/15,649
Infrastructure9#14,268/15,650
Community34#10,328/15,651
Leisure & amenities36#9,998/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Pharmacies · high3.5 /10k
98/100Oklahoma 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBlaine County value
Public libraries · high3.5 /10k
97/100Oklahoma 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesBlaine County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.7×
97/100Oklahoma 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Social associations · high17.6 /10k
96/100Oklahoma 11.1 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlaine County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low105 min
94/100Oklahoma 122 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesBlaine County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,764 /100k
92/100Oklahoma 3,055 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlaine County value

Weaknesses

Injury deaths · high183 /100k
1/100Oklahoma 107 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlaine County value
Food environment index · low5.7
3/100Oklahoma 5.3United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlaine County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Oklahoma 3.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyBlaine County value
Broadband subscriptions · low81.4%
4/100Oklahoma 88.9%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Life expectancy · low70.7 yrs
4/100Oklahoma 74.0 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBlaine County value
Unemployment rate · high13.5%
4/100Oklahoma 3.4%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
2,881 (2015-2019) → 2,623 (2020-2024)
−9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
24.0% (2015-2019) → 52.5% (2020-2024)
+28 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
62.9% (2015-2019) → 81.4% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
High school diploma or higherImproving
70.9% (2015-2019) → 86.7% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
18.1% (2015-2019) → 31.3% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateWorsening
3.2% (2015-2019) → 13.5% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Watonga, Oklahoma improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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

High school++16 points70.9% → 86.7%
Broadband+18 points62.9% → 81.4%
Household income+26%$42,771 → $54,081

Declined1

Rent / income+13 points18.1% → 31.3%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Watonga, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	34.6 min2015-2019	17.8 min2020-2024	−16.8 min	Within the margin of error	100%
Bachelor's degree or higher	7.9%2015-2019	9.4%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Broadband subscriptions	62.9%2015-2019	81.4%2020-2024	+18 points	Improved	88%
Child poverty rate	28.4%2015-2019	19.5%2020-2024	−8.9 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Effective property tax rate	0.66%2015-2019	0.67%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	70.9%2015-2019	86.7%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	99%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4142015-2019	0.4292020-2024	+0.015	Within the margin of error	38%
Median household income	$42,7712015-2019	$54,0812020-2024	+26%	Improved	47%
Poverty rate	15.7%2015-2019	19.2%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	18.1%2015-2019	31.3%2020-2024	+13 points	Declined	6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.7%2015-2019	18.5%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	37%

“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 Watonga, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Watonga, 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, Watonga, Oklahoma itself moved +3.3 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

2,623 residents (±25)

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 men (−10.7 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

2,623 residents (±25)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

White56%1,474
Black11%276
Hispanic or Latino16%426
Asian0.0%0
American Indian and Alaska Native8.3%†218
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races8.7%†229

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Hispanic or Latino (−12.2 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 B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

1,825 residents (±97)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

No high school diploma13%†242
High school or GED43%777
Some college26%481
Associate degree8.4%†154
Bachelor's degree7.0%†127
Graduate degree2.4%†44

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: No high school diploma (−15.8 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 B15003View 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.

Income

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

Household income

904 households (±91)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k23%†209
$25k–50k21%†190
$50k–75k26%†233
$75k–100k16%†144
$100k–150k10%†93
$150k–200k2.8%†25
$200k or more1.1%†10

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−16.8 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

904 households (±91)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own74%666
Rent26%238

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+18.0 points).

Table view

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

Rent paid

203 households (±57)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $75046%†94
$750–1,00032%†65
$1,000–1,50022%†44

Home values

666 homes (±94)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $150k74%495
$150k–250k21%†139
$250k–400k3.6%†24

Age of homes

1,214 homes (±105)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

2010 or later1.1%†13
2000–20092.1%†25
1980–199917%206

Size of homes

1,214 homes (±105)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom5.7%†69
2 bedrooms29%354

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

902 workers (±95)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone82%743
Carpool14%†124
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.2%†2
Bike2.0%†18
Work from home0.9%†8
Other0.8%†7

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (+8.8 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

894 workers (±96)

Watonga, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under 15 min53%474
15–29 min28%†252
30–44 min10%†92

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 Blaine County, the county holding most of Watonga's residents.

Blaine County has 227 employer establishments, 267 for every 10,000 residents (1.07× the US rate of 248; 1.12× Oklahoma's), with 2,548 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,790. The Census Bureau also counts 657 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 227; 657 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 267; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 2,548
Average annual pay: $55,790; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	16	18.8	1.02×About typical	123	$11,447	4
Specialty trade contractors	16	18.8	1.21×About typical	18	$31,278	67
Religious organizations	15	17.6	3.17×More than typical	53	$12,434	—
Gasoline stations	12	14.1	4.35×More than typical	176	$22,205	—
Ambulatory health care services	11	12.9	0.62×Fewer than typical	58	$66,345	9
Building equipment contractors	11	12.9	2.15×More than typical	11	$32,000	10
Full-service restaurants	9	10.6	1.38×Too few to compare	43	$11,977	—
General merchandise stores	9	10.6	5.98×Too few to compare	50	$21,000	5
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	8	9.4	3.80×Too few to compare	6	$37,833	7
Banks and credit unions	7	8.2	2.54×Too few to compare	83	$52,205	—
Truck transportation	7	8.2	1.63×Too few to compare	57	$61,123	28
Health and personal care stores	6	7	2.66×Too few to compare	20	$23,800	3

Rank places for an industry Open Blaine County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,517 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 $746 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Watonga, Oklahoma: $0.28 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $746; +137% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.28; US $1,994
Sole-source: 79%; 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

Bureau of Land Management$64987%
Indian Health Service$96.3513%

Top recipients

FLYING W INC$64987%
DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY OF OKLAHOMA LLC$62684%
MITCHELL CONSULTING SERVICES GROUP INC-$62.200.0%
LABCORP OKLAHOMA INC-$91.590.0%
REGIONAL MEDICAL LABORATORY, INC.-$3760.0%

Spending by fiscal year

28.6KFY2017
87.3KFY2018
3.3KFY2019
3.6KFY2020
1.7KFY2021
1.2KFY2022
3.1KFY2023
2.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing · 3331$64987%
Medical and diagnostic laboratories · 6215$15921%

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

Watonga, Oklahoma's figures are part of those of Blaine County, OK ($427.1K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Blaine 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.

Watonga, 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.

Blaine County29100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Blaine 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/4078950

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends