Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lawton earns a D−, 128th of 131 graded towns in Oklahoma, mostly because of safety and health. Its police reported 684 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. Residents are less healthy than 86% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: it has 45 miles of trail. 55% of working residents work locally in Lawton, against 22% in Oklahoma’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Fort Sill and Mattie Beal House. On civic life, just 7 of Oklahoma’s 205 towns do worse.
Where Lawton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Fort Sill
Leon Russell
Fort Sill is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 7,788 in 1910, 90,381 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1946 on.
22 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Lawton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lawton, 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 Lawton.
Lawton has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns and looks healthier within Oklahoma than nationally, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
The biggest place to walk is Elmer Thomas Park, 160 acres with 1.7 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Elmer Thomas Park | 1.7 mi | 160 |
| 2. Artillery Park | 1 mi | 10 |
| 3. Pig Farm ATV Area | 0.8 mi | 50 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Lawton school district. Three of its 27 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom EsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 1,251 | A− |
| Eisenhower HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,466 | B |
| Bishop Public SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 647 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
The violent crime rate in Lawton is 7.6 per 1,000 residents. Lawton reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less. The property crime rate in Lawton is 23 per 1,000 residents.
| Lawton | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23 per 1,000 residents | 14 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Within Oklahoma it is less healthy than 56% of the 131 graded towns: much of Oklahoma scores lower on these measures.
44% of Lawton adults sleep under 7 hours. Lawton beats the Oklahoma average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 35% of Lawton adults get no exercise outside work.
| Lawton | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 21% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 41% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 34% | 25% |
| What stands out | Lawton | OK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 7.8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.9% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Lawton home is worth about $145,000, up 6.8% in a year, 34% below the Oklahoma typical home. 45% of households own their home in Lawton.
| Lawton | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 45% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $967 a month | $870 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 44% | 44% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 96.3°, hotter than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 28.7°.
Lawton’s July high is 96°F. Lawton has mild winters and hot summers. Lawton’s January low is 29°F.
| Lawton | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 93°F | 85°F |
| January low | 29°F | 28°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Only 44.8% of households own their home, against 65.8% across Oklahoma.
Adults 18 to 34 are 32% of residents (23% statewide). 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Oklahoma.
| Lawton | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.3 years | 36.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 25% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 20% | 29% |
47.9% women, 52.1% men
About 109 men for every 100 women. Across Oklahoma, 50.2% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 62% are men (OK 52%). Median age: women 33.7, men 31.4.
| Lawton | OK | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.5% | 12.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 11.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 13.2% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.3% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.2% | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.3% | 11.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.5% | 11.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.6% | 9.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.9% | 6.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.1% | 10.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.1% | 30.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 25.1% | 22.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.1% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.8% | 18.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.7% | 9.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The average commute for its 28,505 working residents takes 16.2 minutes, against 22.4 across Oklahoma.
The top destinations are Oklahoma City (13%), Norman (2%) and Tulsa (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.
| Lawton | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 6.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
497 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 65 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 497 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lawton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lawton
About 5 of every 100 Lawton residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Oklahoma.
22 places in Lawton on the National Register of Historic Places.
61 notable people were born in Lawton.
City in Oklahoma, US
Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, about 87 mi (140 km) southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton, Oklahoma, metropolitan statistical area. According to the 2020 census, Lawton's population was 90,381, making it the sixth-largest city in the state, and the largest in Western Oklahoma. Developed on former reservation lands of the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache peoples, Lawton was incorporated in 1901. It was named after Major General Henry Ware Lawton, who served in the Civil War, where he earned the Medal of Honor, and was killed in action in the Philippine–American War. Lawton's landsc…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lawton grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #128 of 131 in Oklahoma. It grades D for health, D for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2.4 years of the area's median household income ($60,665 across the Lawton, OK metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
61 notable people were born here, including Leon Russell and N. Scott Momaday.
