Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 18,707, settled in 1890. More miles of trail than almost any town in Oklahoma.
Trash & recyclingAltus gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $110K, 1.8 years of the Altus area’s $63K median household income. It grades C overall, 59th of 131 graded towns in Oklahoma. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of U.S. communities, with strong wind at the top, and the median household income is $55K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it has 23 miles of trail. 55% of working residents work locally in Altus, against 22% in Oklahoma’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Altus is home to Western Oklahoma State College. Only 1 of the 131 Oklahoma towns we compare have a higher July high than Altus.
Where Altus beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
7.6% of the town is conserved land, across 18 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Altus is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,821 in 1910, 18,729 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1982 and 2 maps from 1964 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Altus, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Altus.
Altus has more trail for its size than nearly any town in Oklahoma and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Oklahoma (mostly strong winds).
At 1.3 miles of trail per square mile, it ranks #3 of 82 Oklahoma towns. Its A for the outdoors ranks #3 of 131 in Oklahoma.
Altus’ trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Altus City Lake Hoyt Shadid Park, at 243 acres.
| Altus | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.6% | 6.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hightower Park | 1.3 mi | 14 |
| 2. Wings of Freedom Park | 0.7 mi | 8 |
| 3. Altus City Lake Hoyt Shadid Park | 0.4 mi | 243 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Altus school district. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altus JHSLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 533 | B+ |
| Altus HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 975 | B− |
| Rivers EsTop results in townGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 352 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Oklahoma towns, with expected losses of about $1,528 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Altus is 100 of 100. Since 1983, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Altus.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 1.8 years of the Altus area’s $63K median household income, the typical home (about $110K) costs less against local pay than in 85% of Oklahoma towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
54% of Altus households own their home. The typical Altus home is worth about $110,000, up 2.5% in a year, 50% below the Oklahoma typical home.
| Altus | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $854 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 7,503 U.S. towns with household incomes like Altus’s, it is less healthy than 60%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Oklahoma it is healthier than 59% of the 131 graded towns: much of Oklahoma scores lower on these measures.
Altus beats the Oklahoma average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 15% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Altus.
| Altus | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 34% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 21% | 14% |
| What stands out | Altus | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 15% | 11.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 22.5% | 18.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.3% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Within Oklahoma, it does better than 54% of towns.
| Altus | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.1 per 1,000 residents | 14 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
July afternoons average 96.9°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 27.8°.
Altus has chilly winters and hot summers. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 6,135 working residents takes 11.1 minutes, against 22.4 across Oklahoma.
No town among the 131 in Oklahoma we compare has a lower average trip to work than Altus. The top destinations are Oklahoma City (8%), Lawton (6%) and Elk City (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.
| Altus | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 11 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.8% | 6.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Oklahoma average. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Oklahoma.
| Altus | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33.7 years | 36.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 25% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 20% | 29% |
49.6% women, 50.4% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.7 points. Across Oklahoma, 50.2% of residents are women. Median age: women 34.9, men 32.6.
| Altus | OK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.4% | 12.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 11.2% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.5% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.1% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 11.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.6% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.8% | 9.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 6.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.7% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.8% | 30.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.1% | 22.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.5% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.7% | 18.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.2% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
1 within 15 miles of the center of Altus
About 6 of every 100 Altus residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Oklahoma.
8 places in Altus on the National Register of Historic Places.
23 notable people were born in Altus.
City in Oklahoma, United States
Altus () is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,729 at the 2020 census. Altus is home to Altus Air Force Base, the United States Air Force training base for C-17, KC-46 and KC-135 aircrews. It is also home to Western Oklahoma State College and Southwest Technology Center.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Altus grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #59 of 131 in Oklahoma. It grades C− for health, C for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within Oklahoma, it does better than 54% of towns.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
23 notable people were born here, including Robert Neelly Bellah and Moon Martin.
