Central National Bank · Photo: Zeugzeug · CC BY-SA 4.0Alva runs its own hospital
Alva’s city government spent $8.6 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,725 per resident. It also runs a hospital ($18.2 million), water utilities ($682,000) and an airport ($596,000), counted separately. Census Bureau figures.
What stands out about how Alva is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,725 per resident a year, or $4.73 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 18%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison or trend for Alva yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample), and Alva’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported 43% of its 2022 dollars). It reported 2024 only (2022 is an estimate), so there is no trend yet either. The next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025 (hospital, health & welfare left out), up from 56 in 2022.
The typical homeowner pays $850 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.64% of the home’s value, vs 0.80% across Oklahoma.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Alva’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Alva’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Alva →
Who’s in charge in Alva
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Alva’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on alvaok.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 86 residents, not counting hospital, health & welfare staff
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (4,998).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Alva Public Schools
Alva’s K–12 school district, shared with Carmen, Dacoma. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,742 per pupil, $8,434 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Oklahoma districts overall: 42% local, 45% state, 14% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Alva’s votes are counted by county
Oklahoma reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Alva alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Woods County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican81.2%2,955 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat16.9%614 votesOthers: 1.9% (69 votes).
Most votes in Woods County: Donald J Trump
Oklahoma: Trump 66.2%, Harris 31.9%
100% of Alva lies in Woods County. Every 2024 race in Woods County is on the county’s page.
Woods County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Alva.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: alvaok.org ↗
- 2Oklahoma HouseState representatives
- 3Oklahoma SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Oklahoma
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Alva’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Alva’s government
How much does Alva spend per resident?
About $1,725 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. Alva also runs a hospital ($18.2 million), counted separately.
What is the property tax rate in Alva?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $850 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.64% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.80% across Oklahoma. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see alvaok.org.
Who runs Alva’s government?
See alvaok.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Alva yet.
How did Alva vote in 2024?
Oklahoma counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Alva alone. Woods County, where 100% of Alva lies, voted Trump 81.2%, Harris 16.9% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Alva?
58 full-time and 53 part-time employees in March 2025 (plus 94 full-time hospital, health & welfare staff), with a March payroll of $925,328 (about $11.1M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Alva in the state legislature?
State Senate District 27 (Casey Murdock) and State House District 58 (Carl Newton). The House district also covers 26 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Alva’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →