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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Remote workers have a superpower: location independence. Which Oklahoma city let you keep the most of that salary? We scored 4 cities on cost of living, utility infrastructure, and income potential. Broken Arrow leads at cost index 98 with a utilities index of 99 (not adjusted for inflation, but sti…
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.
Rent in #1-ranked Broken Arrow has increased from $1,624 to $1,671/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time.
Remote workers have a superpower: location independence. Which Oklahoma city let you keep the most of that salary? We scored 4 cities on cost of living, utility infrastructure, and income potential. Broken Arrow leads at cost index 98 with a utilities index of 99 (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
Broken Arrow earns its position at #1 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 98 cost index sits 13 points below the national baseline, and the $85,220 median income means purchasing power here is genuinely above average. Homes list at $283,474 — $183,896 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 98, while Healthcare trails at 100.
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.
#1 Ranked: Broken Arrow — cost index 98, rent $1,671/mo, income $85,220
Broken Arrow: high income, low cost — a rare combo
Remote-worker scoring: cost index 98, utilities index 99, income $85,220 — maximizing geographic arbitrage
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
119,194 residents · Oklahoma
A closer look at Broken Arrow: the cost index of 98 breaks down to a Housing index of 98 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 100 (weakest). Median rent is $1,671/month — 12% below the national median — while household income sits at $85,220, meaning locals spend about 24% of income on rent. That's a healthy margin by any standard (we double-checked this one).
702,767 residents · Oklahoma
Oklahoma comes in at #2. Rent is $1,255 a month. Household income is $66,702. The cost of living index is 73. That tracks.
411,894 residents · Oklahoma
Dive into Tulsa's numbers: cost index 70 (41 points below national average), rent $1,207/month, income $58,407, and a home price of $212,757. That alone makes it worth considering. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 70, while Healthcare runs 94. With 411,894 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
130,046 residents · Oklahoma
Why Norman ranks #4: the numbers tell a clear story. At 75 on the cost index, residents save roughly 36% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,289/month while the median household pulls in $65,060/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 75, though Healthcare (95) lags behind. Home prices average $257,977 — $209,393 below the national median.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to remote workers. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Oklahoma by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Broken Arrow ranks #1 in Oklahoma for this analysis with a cost index of 98 and median income of $85,220.
Broken Arrow scores highest for remote workers due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,671/mo, and above-average 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 Norman (ranked #4) has a cost index of 75 and rent of $1,289/mo — a 23-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.