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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The income-cost paradox: Broken Arrow pays $85,220 — 6% above the national median — while costing just 98 on the index. Only 40 of 288 tracked cities share this unusual profile. Here's the full 4-city ranking for 2026.
#1 Ranked: Broken Arrow — cost index 98, rent $1,671/mo, income $85,220
Broken Arrow: high income, low cost — a rare combo
4 of 4 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
The income-cost paradox: Broken Arrow pays $85,220 — 6% above the national median — while costing just 98 on the index. Only 40 of 288 tracked cities share this unusual profile. Here's the full 4-city ranking for 2026.
The ranking uses a composite of 2026 data from Census Bureau population/income surveys, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary benchmarks, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Broken Arrow (index 98, rent $1,671); Oklahoma (index 73, rent $1,255); Norman (index 75, rent $1,289). Each city profile below links to the full detail page with 12-month trends, salary breakdowns, and cost category comparisons.
Dive into Broken Arrow's numbers: cost index 98 (13 points below national average), rent $1,671/month, income $85,220, and a home price of $283,474. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 98, while Healthcare runs 100. With 119,194 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Broken Arrow: high income, low cost — a rare combo. Broken Arrow earns above the national median ($85,220 vs $80,367) while keeping costs below average (index 98 vs 111). That combination is exceptionally rare — only 40 of 288 cities share it.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
119,194 residents · Oklahoma
Why Broken Arrow ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 98 on the cost index, residents save roughly 13% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,671/month while the median household pulls in $85,220/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 98, though Healthcare (100) lags behind. Home prices average $283,474 — $183,896 below the national median (that's pre-tax, of course).
702,767 residents · Oklahoma
What does daily life actually cost in Oklahoma? Start with the 23% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Housing (index 73) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 95) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $66,702 and homes at $203,329 round out a profile that ranks #2 for clear reasons.
130,046 residents · Oklahoma
A closer look at Norman: the cost index of 75 breaks down to a Housing index of 75 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 95 (weakest). Median rent is $1,289/month — 32% below the national median — while household income sits at $65,060, meaning locals spend about 24% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
411,894 residents · Oklahoma
Why Tulsa ranks #4: the numbers tell a clear story. At 70 on the cost index, residents save roughly 41% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,207/month while the median household pulls in $58,407/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 70, though Healthcare (94) lags behind. Home prices average $212,757 — $254,613 below the national median (though the trend is moving in the right direction).
Broken Arrow ranks #1 in Oklahoma for this analysis with a cost index of 98 and median income of $85,220.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Broken Arrow (ranked #1) has a cost index of 98 and rent of $1,671/mo, while Tulsa (ranked #4) has a cost index of 70 and rent of $1,207/mo — a 28-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Broken Arrow is $1,671/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $224 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Broken Arrow is $283,474, which is 3.3× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Oklahoma has a 4.75% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.97%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.82%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.