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Towns / Oklahoma

Jay, Oklahoma

Jay is a small town of about 2,500 people in Delaware County, Oklahoma. It's the county seat. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tulsa, is about 65 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
2,507
up 3.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$107,900
Delaware County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$38,094
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Oklahoma
83.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
Grove, OK
To Tulsa
65 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 moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood11 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 38.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 1 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byIntegris Grove Hospital in Grove, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTulsa 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 Jay 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
$107,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Delaware County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$765 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$38,094U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
61%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$611 a yearOklahoma: $1,599
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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: county prices have moved up 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Oklahoma outside metro areas, not Jay 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
2,5072020: 2,422
Median age
34.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
11%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%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 (24%); manufacturing (19%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
14%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
28 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
24%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Integris Grove Hospital, Grove, OK, about 11 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

4 public schools in Jay, run by Jay.

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
52%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
80%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
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
57 a year
Nights at or below freezing
102 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.6 inches a year
Snow
6 inches a year
Elevation
1,027 feet

Weather stations: Upper Spavinaw Port (6 miles away) and Spavinaw (15 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

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: Integris Grove Hospital, Bentonville, Tulsa.

Delaware County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, 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.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Pea Ridge National Military Park41 miles
  • George Washington Carver National Monument45 miles
  • Wilson's Creek National Battlefield46 miles

Read about Jay's history on Wikipedia.

Know Jay?

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

  • Brush Creek, OK (unincorporated)101 people, 1 mile
  • New Eucha, OK (unincorporated)185 people, 4 miles
  • Oak Hill-Piney, OK (unincorporated)109 people, 5 miles
  • Zena, OK (unincorporated)280 people, 6 miles
  • Butler, OK (unincorporated)159 people, 8 miles
  • Dennis, OK (unincorporated)396 people, 9 miles
  • Cloud Creek, OK (unincorporated)266 people, 9 miles
  • Bull Hollow, OK (unincorporated)118 people, 10 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.