Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,923, settled in 1895.
Holdenville gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $59K, 1.1 years of the county’s $52K median household income. It grades C− overall, 73rd among Oklahoma's 131 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $46K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line, and residents are less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Holdenville has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Holdenville City Hall and John E. Turner House. Only 1 of the 127 Oklahoma towns we compare have a lower typical home value than Holdenville. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 79% of U.S. communities, with hail at the top.
Where Holdenville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Holdenville is from typical.
Its grades run from A for cost of living (better than 94% of comparable towns) to D− for jobs and income (better than 3%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 749 in 1900, 5,934 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Holdenville, 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 Holdenville.
Holdenville trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and trades workers with Oklahoma City and other neighbors, but it has little public open land.
Homes are within reach (about $59K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 26 miles. At 1.1 years of the county’s $52K median household income, the typical home (about $59K) costs less against local pay than in 98% of Oklahoma towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
Holdenville’s median rent is $665 a month, against $875 a month in Oklahoma’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. Typical home values fell 8.4% in the year to September 2026. The typical Holdenville home is worth about $59,000, down 8.4% in a year, 73% below the Oklahoma typical home.
| Holdenville | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $665 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 62% | 62% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Holdenville school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethel Reed EsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 340 | A |
| Holdenville HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 290 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
25% of adults smoke cigarettes in Holdenville, where Oklahoma’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 14%. 30% of Holdenville adults worry about having enough food. Holdenville beats the Oklahoma average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18.
| Holdenville | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 21% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Holdenville | OK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.6% | 7.8% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 30% | 18.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Holdenville’s property crime rate is 28 per 1,000 residents.
| Holdenville | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28 per 1,000 residents | 14 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Holdenville has mild winters and hot summers. The July high in Holdenville is 94°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Holdenville has about as many jobs (1,953) as working residents, but only 595 people both live and work here.
About one in 3 of Holdenville’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Holdenville grew to 1,953 in 2023, 338 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Oklahoma City (10%), Wewoka (6%) and Tulsa (4%).
| Holdenville | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 30% | 22% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $46,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Just 14 of its 3,211 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Holdenville itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.5 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Only 5 of the 113 Oklahoma towns we compare have a lower share of conserved land than Holdenville.
| Holdenville | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stroup Park | 0.5 mi | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Holdenville; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Holdenville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oklahoma.
3 places in Holdenville on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Holdenville.
City in Oklahoma, United States
Holdenville is a city in and the county seat of Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 5,934 at the time of the 2020 United States census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Holdenville grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #73 of 131 in Oklahoma. It grades D− for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
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.
19 notable people were born here, including Clu Gulager and T. Boone Pickens.
