What it's like to live in Altus
Altus is a small city in Oklahoma with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and commutes that run shorter than most cities. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Altus deals with household incomes below the national average, cold winters, hot summers, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Short commutes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Cold winters
- Hot summers
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Altus compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Altus
Based on Altus's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,708
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $34,160 a year
- 36% of Altus renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$30,440
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $15,220
- Homes cost 2.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 40% below US
$854/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $854 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $152,200. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $152,200 · 36% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
2.7% county unemployment
Unemployment in Jackson County is 2.7%, well below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Jackson County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 26% below US
243 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1411/100k · Altus Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 57% below US
11 min average commute
Commutes run short here, averaging 11.1 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 9 in 10 workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers run seriously hot, with average highs pushing 95°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 27°F and snow a regular occurrence.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 3.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 34% below US
24% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 24%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
7 public schools inside the boundary
There are 7 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Washita Battlefield National Historic Site (70 miles away).
Bottom line
Altus's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and cold winters. A year of median rent ($854/mo) equals 19% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), and anyone prioritizing low crime.
Other places near Altus
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