Living in Boley, Oklahoma: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 16.4% below the U.S. average in the parts of Oklahoma outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Boley to say.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Paden Hs, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byPrague Regional Memorial Hospital in Prague, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 55 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Boley meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical household income: $26,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $278 a yearOklahoma: $1,599
Homes built before 1940: 2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 83.6U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Oklahoma outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Oklahoma outside metro areas, not Boley alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,0872020: 1,086
Median age: 40.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 3%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 7%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 30%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Transportation, warehousing and utilities (9%); manufacturing (7%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home: 5%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Prague Regional Memorial Hospital, Prague, OK, about 12 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Carrus Lakeside Hospital, Bristow, OK, about 24 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Boley itself. The nearest public high school is Paden Hs, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Oklahoma's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low: 30°F
July average high: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 75 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 50 a year
Rain and melted snow: 43.5 inches a year
Snow: 5 inches a year
Elevation: 852 feet

Weather station: Okemah (11 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Prague Regional Memorial HospitalEmergency room12

Midwest City, OKCity of 59,00050

Tulsa, OKMetro of 1.1 million55

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Prague Regional Memorial Hospital, Midwest City, Tulsa.

Okfuskee County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Boley Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

Read about Boley's history on Wikipedia.

Know Boley?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Okemah, OK3,100 people, 11 miles
Prague, OK2,400 people, 12 miles
Seminole, OK7,400 people, 20 miles
Stroud, OK2,900 people, 22 miles
Wetumka, OK1,100 people, 22 miles
Meeker, OK1,000 people, 23 miles

Smaller places

Paden, OK427 people, 5 miles
Castle, OK173 people, 5 miles
Bearden, OK137 people, 10 miles
Welty, OK (unincorporated)162 people, 10 miles
Cromwell, OK228 people, 10 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.