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Towns / Oklahoma

Helena, Oklahoma

Helena is a small town of about 1,500 people in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. Its population has held about steady since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Oklahoma City, is about 86 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,527
down 0.3% since 2020
Household income
$61,500
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Oklahoma
83.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
22 miles
Fairview, OK
To Oklahoma City
86 mi
straight line

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 Helena to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Helena itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school.
  • A hospital close byFairview Regional Medical Center Authority in Fairview, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityOklahoma City is about 86 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 Helena 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
$61,500U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
85%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940
35%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%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 Helena 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
1,5272020: 1,532
Median age
48.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
4%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
4%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
22%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
Schools, health care and social services (23%); construction (16%)
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
1%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Fairview Regional Medical Center Authority, Fairview, OK, about 22 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: Integris Health Enid Hospital, Enid, OK, about 24 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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

1 public school in Helena, run by Timberlake.

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 any internet subscription
92%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
23°F
July average high
95°F
Days 90°F or hotter
81 a year
Nights at or below freezing
105 a year
Rain and melted snow
32.1 inches a year
Snow
13 inches a year
Elevation
1,401 feet

Weather station: Helena 1 SSE (1 mile 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

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: Fairview Regional Medical Center Authority, Enid, Oklahoma City.

Alfalfa 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

Read about Helena's history on Wikipedia.

Know Helena?

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

Smaller places

  • Goltry, OK248 people, 7 miles
  • Jet, OK193 people, 10 miles
  • Aline, OK168 people, 10 miles
  • Carmen, OK354 people, 11 miles
  • Ringwood, OK395 people, 11 miles
  • Meno, OK188 people, 12 miles
  • Cleo Springs, OK276 people, 14 miles
  • Nash, OK183 people, 15 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

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.