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Oklahoma›Cherokee County

KeysOK

A town of 982.

Is Keys a good place to live?

32% of residents live below the poverty line in Keys, against 18% in Oklahoma’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Among 132 Oklahoma towns, just 4 have a lower typical July afternoon high than Keys. Keys has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.

Small town

982 people, and everyone knows the way

In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.

Nearby towns
Park HillPettitPark HillPettitKeys
Getting set up

Moving to Keys: who provides what

Keys is unincorporated, so Cherokee County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerLake Region Electric Coop13.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterCherokee Co. RWD #2 (Keys)1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers96% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesCherokee CountyCherokee County provides services here
SchoolsKeys Public SchoolsWhich school depends on your addressNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Oklahoma you can register online until 25 days before Election Day, in person until 25 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 25 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereSecretary, Cherokee County Election BoardCherokee County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Feb 2018
ZIP codes74451, 7446474451 92% · 74464 8%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Keys.

Work & commute

Keys has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

Keys had 228 jobs in 2023, up 128 from 2013. Just 3% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. The income of the median household for Keys comes to $39,000, where Oklahoma’s towns sit at $55,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. The average commute in the town is 26 minutes.

3%work in town
KeysOklahoma townsU.S. towns
Working residents who work in town3.1%22%8%
Median household income$39,000$55,000$80,000
Average trip to work26 minutes22 minutes25 minutes

Where working residents work

In Keys3%
Tahlequah27%
Muskogee10%
Tulsa10%
Catoosa3%
24 mi
median commute distance
228
jobs based in Keys
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Schools

The schools Keys’s kids attend

Public schools: the Keys school district. Its two schools are below. 2 public schools serve Keys, with 769 students in all.

SchoolLevelStudentsLetter
Keys EsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8Grades PK–8511A
Keys HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12Grades 9–12258C+

NCES · EDFacts

Housing

Keys’ typical home value is about $287K

In Keys, three in five households live in a home they own. The midpoint rent for Keys comes to $836 a month.

$287KZillow home value
KeysOklahoma townsU.S. towns
Households that own their home60%62%73%
Median rent$836 a month$873 a month$1,185 a month

Typical home value

Keys$287K
Oklahoma$221K
+13.8%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in May

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Climate

Keys: mild winters and hot summers

Winters in Keys are chilly and summers warm, with plenty of rain. Summer afternoons peak near 92° in July, and January nights bottom out around 27°; snowfall runs to about 4 inches a winter.

4″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter30–51°
Spring48–71°
Summer68–90°
Fall50–73°
Oct 31
typical first frost
Apr 4
typical last frost
+0.4°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Natural hazards

High risk in Keys, with inland flooding at the top

Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 62% of U.S. communities. Just over two fifths of Keys’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 13%.

62risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
62High riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingTornadoesHeat waves

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Health

How healthy Keys is

Just over a third of adults get no exercise outside work in Keys. Two figures for adults in the town: 45% have obesity, 16% have diabetes.

KeysOklahoma townsU.S. towns
Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES)22%18%14%
Obesity (CDC PLACES)45%41%35%
Diabetes (CDC PLACES)16%14%12%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)44%40%35%
32 measures vs. Oklahoma
0 better16 too close to call16 worse
What stands outKeysOK
More adults without reliable transportation13.1%9.6%
More older adults who have lost all their teeth22.2%16.4%
More smokers21.7%16.3%
Cherokee Nation W W Hastings Indian Hospital
7.6 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Who lives here

More children than Oklahoma overall

Among adults 25 and older, 24% have a four-year degree or more, against 28% across Oklahoma. Children under 18 are 28% of residents (24% statewide). Keys’ age of the median resident is 35.9 years.

35.9median age · OK 37
KeysOklahoma townsU.S. towns
Median age35.9 years36.2 years40.5 years
Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+24%20%29%
KeysOklahomaUnited States

Ages · share of residents

Education · adults 25 and older

No diploma14%
High school33%
Some college28%
Associate’s2%
Bachelor’s14%
Graduate10%

Women and men · all residents

Somewhere between 44% and 66% women

The Census survey reached too few of Keys’ residents to say more: its margin here is ±11.2 points. Across Oklahoma, 50.2% of residents are women.

Ages and education in Keys
KeysOKU.S.
Under 1016.4%12.8%11.6%
10 to 1711.6%11.2%10.3%
18 to 2410%9.8%9.1%
25 to 349.8%13.5%13.7%
35 to 449.3%13.2%13.2%
45 to 5418.4%11.4%12.2%
55 to 649.7%11.9%12.7%
65 to 742.6%9.7%10.2%
75 and older12.2%6.6%7%
No diploma13.5%10.6%10.4%
High school32.8%30.6%26%
Some college27.6%22.1%19.1%
Associate’s2.1%8.3%8.8%
Bachelor’s14.1%18.5%21.6%
Graduate9.9%9.9%14.1%

U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,000, single groups can be off by several points

Nearby attractions

USS Batfish and 8 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Keys. Close and well known come first.

All 30 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

USS Batfish: Blackwing.1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Spiro Mounds: Herb Roe Original uploader was Heironymous Rowe at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Gibson: Fred Q. Casler, Photographer, Public domain · Devil's Den State Park: jaystout, CC BY 2.0 · Cherokee Heritage Center: Uyvsdi, Public domain · Five Civilized Tribes Museum: Uyvsdi, Public domain

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Keys

15pages on Keys
After high school

Colleges nearby

1 within 15 miles of the center of Keys

A commuter town

97% of working residents leave Keys for work

Where Keys’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

27% → Tahlequah Tahlequah 27% 10% → Muskogee Muskogee 10% 10% → Tulsa Tulsa 10% 3% → Catoosa Catoosa 3% 3% → Oklahoma City Oklahoma City 3% 3% → Broken Arrow Broken Arrow 3% Keys · 3% stay
228jobs based in Keys
3%of working residents work in town
24 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Keys

Unincorporated community in Oklahoma, US

Keys is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Keys had a population of 1,030.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Questions about Keys

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Keys, OK a good place to live?

Keys has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.