Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,783, settled in 1901.
Sayre gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $126K for a typical one, or 2.4 years of the Elk City area’s $53K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 41st of 131 in Oklahoma. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $41K, and 44% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 92% of the country. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns. 44% of residents live below the poverty line in Sayre, where Oklahoma’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 22 of Oklahoma’s 227 towns score higher on walkability. Sayre has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Beckham County Courthouse and Sayre Rock Island Depot.
Where Sayre beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Sayre | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.3% | 16.4% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Sayre is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,881 in 1910, 4,809 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1960 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sayre, 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 Sayre.
Sayre fares better on crime within Oklahoma than nationally, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
Against the 2,747 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sayre’s, it is less healthy than 60%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. Within Oklahoma it is less healthy than 70% of the 131 graded towns: much of Oklahoma scores lower on these measures.
73% of Sayre adults had a checkup this year. Among 131 Oklahoma towns, just 10 have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Sayre. 24% of Sayre adults smoke cigarettes.
| Sayre | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 14% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 21% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 78% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Sayre | OK |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6% | 7.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.3% | 16.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Sayre school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sayre EsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 325 | A− |
| Sayre HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 192 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $664, against $1,599 across Oklahoma, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
56% of households own their home in Sayre. Typical home values rose 5.2% in the year to September 2026. Sayre’s median rent is $752 a month.
| Sayre | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $752 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 9.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 93% of Oklahoma’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Sayre is 3.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Sayre | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 14.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons average 95.5°, hotter than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 25.2°.
Sayre has chilly winters and hot summers. Among 131 Oklahoma towns, just 9 have a higher July high than Sayre. About 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Sayre | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 96°F | 93°F | 85°F |
| January low | 25°F | 28°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 1,617 in 2013 to 905.
About one in 4 of Sayre’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Sayre fell to 905 in 2023, 712 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Elk City (16%), Oklahoma City (11%) and Clinton (2%).
| Sayre | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 27% | 22% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Sayre; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Sayre residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Oklahoma.
6 places in Sayre on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Sayre.
City in Oklahoma, US
Sayre is a city in and the county seat of Beckham County, in western Oklahoma, United States. It is halfway between Oklahoma City and Amarillo on Interstate 40 and the former U.S. Route 66. The population was 4,809 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 4,375 at the 2010 census, and the largest population ever recorded by a census since Sayre's founding.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sayre grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #41 of 131 in Oklahoma. It grades D for health, A− 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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Billy Wilson and Peyton Ford.
