Moving to
Bartlesville.

All Bartlesville data Compare Bartlesville

37,878people live here $58,869median household income▼ 27% below US $916median rent per month▼ 35% below US $167,200median home value▼ 50% below US

What it's like to live in Bartlesville

Bartlesville is a small city in Oklahoma with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, 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. Bartlesville deals with household incomes below the national average, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, cold winters, and hot summers.

The good

Rent below the national average
Affordable home prices
Low unemployment
Short commutes
Average class sizes

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Air quality concerns
Cold winters
Hot summers
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How Bartlesville compares

Median household income

Bartlesville$58,869

Oklahoma avg$65,039

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Bartlesville$916

Oklahoma avg$1,014

US$1,413

Median home value

Bartlesville$167,200

Oklahoma avg$199,800

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Bartlesville

Based on Bartlesville's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$1,832

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $36,640 a year
49% of Bartlesville renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$33,440

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $16,720
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▼ 35% below US

$916/mo median rent

Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $916 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 $167,200. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.

Median home value $167,200 · 49% of renters cost-burdened

Job market▼ 16% below US

3.6% unemployment

Unemployment here is 3.6%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.

City-level (BLS)

SafetyNear US average

352 violent crimes per 100k

Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.

Property crime 2352/100k · Bartlesville Police Department · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 33% below US

18 min average commute

Commutes run short here, averaging 17.5 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; 8% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

76%

Carpool

12%

Work from home

8.0%

Walk

1.9%

Other

1.9%

Public transit

0.4%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 91°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 24°F and snow a regular occurrence.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

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 & workforceNear US average

33% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 33% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.

Schools

12 public schools inside the boundary

There are 12 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is George Washington Carver National Monument (90 miles away).

Bottom line

Bartlesville'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 air quality that falls short of national benchmarks. A year of median rent ($916/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 and people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.

See all the data for Bartlesville →·All Oklahoma cities →