Living in Elgin, Oklahoma: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the Lawton metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close bySouthwestern Medical Center in Lawton, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityOklahoma City is about 65 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 Elgin 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 home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $260,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 12%Comanche County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,225 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $96,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,391 a yearOklahoma: $1,599
Homes built before 1940: 3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 50%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 85.9U.S. average = 100 (the Lawton metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Lawton metro area, not Elgin 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: 3,6532020: 3,564
Median age: 32.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 8%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 35%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 43%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 15%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%share of all residents

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: Schools, health care and social services (32%); government (18%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate: 7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Southwestern Medical Center, Lawton, OK, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

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

3 public schools in Elgin, run by Elgin.

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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 88%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 98%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

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

Weather

January average low: 28°F
July average high: 93°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 82 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 78 a year
Rain and melted snow: 36.8 inches a year
Snow: 6 inches a year
Elevation: 1,279 feet

Weather stations: Apache 4ENE Mesonet (9 miles away) and Marlow 1 WSW (21 miles away, rain and snow). 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

Southwestern Medical CenterEmergency room14

Lawton, OKCity of 91,00014

Oklahoma City, OKMetro of 1.5 million65

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: Southwestern Medical Center, Lawton, Oklahoma City.

Comanche County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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.

Read about Elgin's history on Wikipedia.

Know Elgin?

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

Fletcher, OK1,300 people, 5 miles
Central High, OK1,200 people, 17 miles
Rush Springs, OK1,000 people, 19 miles
Anadarko, OK5,400 people, 20 miles
Cache, OK3,200 people, 21 miles
Geronimo, OK1,200 people, 22 miles

Smaller places

Lake Ellsworth Addition, OK (unincorporated)203 people, 4 miles
Edgewater Park, OK (unincorporated)135 people, 5 miles
Sterling, OK674 people, 7 miles
Apache, OK996 people, 8 miles
Cyril, OK797 people, 9 miles
Medicine Park, OK497 people, 12 miles
Cement, OK419 people, 14 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.