States / Oklahoma

State rental intelligence

Oklahoma rental market data

A source-traced view across 18 metro markets and 77 counties. State figures below are labelled medians and totals—not a made-up statewide investment score.

14/18 metros scored77/77 counties with FEMA risk15 sources used in this analysis

Median scored metro46.5out of 100 · 14 measured metros

Oklahoma identity diorama showing regional landscape, cities, housing, and infrastructure

Median metro home value$185kmedian across published metro values

Median metro rent$1,183monthly · published metro values

Median gross yield7.5%annual rent ÷ price · before costs

Median job trend▼ 0.6%trailing 12-month metro employment

State research brief

Median rent growth exceeds home-value growth by 1.4 percentage points while median employment growth is negative, putting local demand and exit liquidity at the center of Oklahoma screening.

Updated 2026-07-31 · evidence current to the releases listed below.

Across the measured metros, median rent growth was 5.2% and median home-value growth was 3.9%, but median employment growth was -0.6%. The counter-signal is positive net migration and positive job growth in several named metros, so the employment median does not establish weak demand everywhere.

Screening should connect local rent momentum to employment, entry cost, resale conditions, taxes and physical risk rather than treating the state medians as property-level results. Rent growth covers 14 of 18 metros, county rent data cover 27 of 77 counties, and the packet does not provide occupancy, concessions, operating expenses, insurance quotes or parcel-level hazard exposure.

Median metro rent growth of 5.2% versus 3.9% home-value growth → separate rent momentum from appreciation assumptions.

Median employment growth of -0.6% alongside net in-migration of 5,624 → verify demand at the employer and submarket level rather than relying on one statewide direction.

Metro marketing time ranging widely around a 44.5-day median → use locality-specific resale periods and discounts in exit tests.

Gross yields of 10.3% to 13.6% in the named entry markets → test affordability and full operating costs before treating headline yield as return.

County hazard loss and effective tax rates vary materially → obtain property-specific insurance and tax inputs before setting a bid.

Price and rent momentum

Rent gains outran values, with a wide Muskogee gap

Median rent growth was 5.2% across 14 measured metros, versus 3.9% home-value growth across 18. The supplied difference was 1.4 percentage points. The middle 80% of measured rent-growth observations ran from 2.6% to 12.9%, while home-value growth ran from 0.5% to 5.9%.

Muskogee recorded 16.1% rent growth and 2.1% home-value growth, a calculated gap of 14.0 percentage points, with a 7.4% gross yield. Tahlequah posted 13.7% rent growth against 8.4% value growth, while Ponca City posted 10.9% against 3.6%. These readings support rent-comp verification, but the indices do not establish collected rent, occupancy or net operating income.

Evidence: Zillow ZHVI — metro home values · Zillow ZORI — metro market rents

Employment and household movement

Positive migration complicates the employment warning

Employment growth had a -0.6% median across 18 metros, with the middle 80% ranging from -2.5% to 0.3%. In contrast, measured county movement produced net in-migration of 5,624 people across 76 reporting counties, equal to 1.4 per 1,000 residents.

The job result was not uniform: Tahlequah measured 2.0% growth, Ponca City 0.6% and Tulsa 0.1%. Local screening therefore needs to distinguish the statewide migration counter-signal from metro employment conditions. The employment and migration series also cover different periods, so their combination cannot establish current household formation in a specific rental submarket.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — population · BLS CES — payroll employment · BLS LAUS — resident employment · IRS SOI — county migration and mover income

Entry cost and affordability

Higher headline yield can coincide with greater rent stretch

Across 18 metros, the median home value was $185,202, median monthly rent was $1,183 and median gross yield was 7.5%. Median rent equaled 22.7% of measured income, while the median price-to-income ratio was 3.1. The median metro rent-to-FMR measure was 112.6%, or a calculated 12.6% above the applicable two-bedroom standard.

Woodward paired a 13.6% gross yield with rent equal to 29.5% of measured income. Enid showed a 10.5% yield and 23.0% rent-to-income ratio, while Altus showed a 10.3% yield and 18.7% ratio. That dispersion makes tenant affordability part of the yield screen. Gross yield excludes vacancy, maintenance, taxes, insurance, management and financing.

Evidence: Census ACS 5-year — household income · HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standard · Zillow ZHVI — metro home values · Zillow ZORI — metro market rents

Supply and resale conditions

Construction intensity and current resale tightness do not line up uniformly

The 18-metro medians were 3.8 months of supply, 44.5 days on market, a 27.1% price-drop share and a 97.1% sale-to-list ratio. Woodward was much slower at 116 days and a 95.2% sale-to-list ratio. Duncan recorded 85 days and 6.8 months of supply, showing that exit assumptions based on the median would miss meaningful local friction.

Permit intensity did not map uniformly to current inventory. Durant recorded 6.92 permitted units per 1,000 residents and 5.3 months of supply; Oklahoma City recorded 5.67 and 3.0 months; Tulsa recorded 4.68 and 2.4 months. Permits are a pipeline measure rather than proof of completed competing inventory, while current for-sale conditions do not establish rental absorption.

Evidence: Census Building Permits Survey — permitted units · Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts

County market dispersion

County appreciation and exit liquidity split sharply

Home-value measures cover all 77 counties and show median annual growth of 3.5%, with the middle 80% ranging from -3.2% to 6.6%. Five-year FHFA data cover 55 counties and have a 46.8% median gain. Choctaw County measured 13.6% annual HPI growth and a 75.0% five-year gain. County rent and gross-yield measures cover only 27 counties, making county-level income comparisons substantially less complete than value comparisons.

Listing data cover 54 counties and show a 70-day median. Kingfisher County measured 122 days with a 38.8% pending ratio, while Woods County measured 118 days with a 22.4% pending ratio. Cimarron County reported 267 days but zero active listings; that combination is a reason to validate transaction depth rather than treat the days-on-market figure as a stable liquidity estimate.

Evidence: FHFA House Price Index — annual county appreciation · Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventory · Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rents

Physical risk and property tax

Leading hazards are concentrated, while loss and tax burdens remain county-specific

The packet assigns inland flood as the mutually exclusive leading-hazard label in 72 counties, hail in 3 and strong wind in 2. These labels identify each county's top hazard only; they do not mean every parcel is exposed to that hazard or free from other hazards.

The median county hazard loss ratio was 0.20%, and the 90th percentile was 0.32%. Jackson County measured 1.02%, Coal County 0.53% and Harper County 0.43%. The median effective property-tax rate was 0.63%, versus 0.85% at the 90th percentile. Cleveland County measured 1.00% with a $2,360 median tax, Canadian County 0.97% with $2,394 and Oklahoma County 0.97% with $2,155. These county readings support tax and hazard screening but cannot replace a parcel assessment or insurance quote.

Evidence: FEMA National Risk Index — hazard loss ratios · Census ACS 5-year — effective property tax

Evidence selected for Oklahoma

The ranges behind the analysis

Each row keeps its own unit and shows the measured 10th percentile, median and 90th percentile. A single-value row is labelled directly.

Price and rent momentumAre home values and asking rents moving together or separating?

Employment and household movementDo jobs, household movement and mover income point in the same direction?

Entry cost and affordabilityHow far do local prices, rents, incomes and HUD rent standards stretch?

Shape of the state

Distribution before conclusion

A statewide median can hide a wide spread. These SVG charts render at build time and carry no chart library or browser-side data request.

Metro score distribution14 scored metros · median 46.5

County evidence coverageEvery gap stays visible as missing—not estimated

Highest measured metro gross yieldsscreening metric only · before expenses and financing

Metro leaderboard

Markets touching Oklahoma

Multi-state CBSAs appear in every member state. Score is still a metro score; no value is reweighted into a statewide ranking.

#	Metro	Score	Price	Rent	Yield	Jobs
1	Ponca City, OK	76	$118k	$801	8.2%	▲ 0.6%
2	Tahlequah, OK	71	$217k	$1,216	6.7%	▲ 2.0%
3	Ada, OK	61	$195k	$1,114	6.9%	▼ 0.6%
4	Muskogee, OK	57	$161k	$991	7.4%	▼ 1.4%
5	Tulsa, OK	50	$256k	$1,361	6.4%	▲ 0.1%
6	Lawton, OK	47	$155k	$1,110	8.6%	▼ 1.5%
7	Shawnee, OK	47	$197k	$1,149	7.0%	▼ 0.5%
8	Ardmore, OK	46	$184k	$1,234	8.0%	▼ 1.2%
9	Fort Smith, AR	44	$208k	$1,047	6.0%	▼ 0.8%
10	Stillwater, OK	44	$248k	$1,401	6.8%	▼ 1.1%
11	Durant, OK	43	$231k	$1,479	7.7%	▼ 0.1%
12	Enid, OK	40	$144k	$1,266	10.5%	▼ 0.6%

Showing the top 12 scored metros of 18. Unscored metros remain discoverable through the national rankings.

Below the metro line

Largest counties in Oklahoma

County figures join on the five-digit FIPS code. The table uses measured local values and prints “n/a” wherever a publisher has no record.

County	Population	Price	Rent	Yield	Hazard
Oklahoma County, OK	806,199	$227k	$1,359	7.2%	inland flooding
Tulsa County, OK	680,794	$256k	$1,352	6.3%	inland flooding
Cleveland County, OK	300,047	$256k	$1,391	6.5%	inland flooding
Canadian County, OK	168,985	$275k	$1,599	7.0%	inland flooding
Comanche County, OK	121,825	$157k	$1,110	8.5%	inland flooding
Rogers County, OK	98,610	$287k	$1,444	6.0%	inland flooding
Wagoner County, OK	86,609	$286k	$1,621	6.8%	inland flooding
Payne County, OK	82,972	$248k	$1,401	6.8%	inland flooding
Pottawatomie County, OK	73,463	$197k	$1,149	7.0%	inland flooding
Creek County, OK	72,830	$221k	$1,274	6.9%	inland flooding
Muskogee County, OK	66,444	$161k	$991	7.4%	inland flooding
Garfield County, OK	62,146	$144k	$1,266	10.5%	inland flooding

County yield sample27/77counties have the rent needed to compute yield

Statewide net migration+5,624IRS tax-return households summed across counties

Median investor share11.7%among counties with HMDA purchase records

Published city evidence

Go from Oklahoma to a city record

These links exist only where an official Census place, direct city price and rent series, and a checked city brief are all available.

City · OKOklahoma City$209k home · $1,298 rent · 7.4% yield City · OKTulsa$223k home · $1,272 rent · 6.8% yield City · OKNorman$266k home · $1,383 rent · 6.2% yield City · OKEdmond$358k home · $1,701 rent · 5.7% yield City · OKLawton$142k home · $1,086 rent · 9.2% yield

Sources used in this analysis

Measured releases, not a global source count

Only sources supporting the selected evidence modules are listed here.

Bear case

What can break the thesis

Positive migration and positive job growth in Tahlequah, Ponca City and Tulsa could make the negative median employment result a poor proxy for selected local demand.
Rent growth covers 14 metros, while county rent and gross-yield data cover only 27 of 77 counties; uncovered areas may differ materially.
Employment, migration, rent, value and listing sources cover different periods, so their apparent alignment may weaken when synchronized.
Rent indices and gross yields omit occupancy, concessions, repairs, management, financing and other costs that determine cash flow.
County listing statistics and FEMA labels are area-level screens; sparse records and parcel variation can invalidate a property-level inference.

Investor questions

Before underwriting a property

Does faster rent growth justify aggressive rent increases?

Not by itself. Median measured rent growth was 5.2%, but coverage was 14 metros and the packet lacks lease-level collections, concessions, turnover and occupancy.

Does negative median job growth mean every Oklahoma rental market has weak demand?

No. Median metro employment growth was -0.6%, but net migration was positive and Tahlequah, Ponca City and Tulsa each recorded positive job growth.

Where do measured resale indicators warrant extra caution?

Woodward recorded 116 days on market and a 95.2% sale-to-list ratio, while Duncan had 6.8 months of supply. At county level, Kingfisher County and Woods County exceeded 118 days.

Do the named double-digit gross yields establish attractive returns?

No. Woodward, Enid and Altus measured gross yields above 10%, but those figures exclude vacancy and operating costs; Woodward also had a 29.5% rent-to-income ratio.

Can the FEMA leading-hazard label determine property insurance exposure?

No. It is one mutually exclusive county-level leading-hazard label, not parcel exposure or an insurance premium estimate.