Living in Longtown, 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 moneyA typical home costs 3.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Eufaula Hs, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byHaskell Regional Hospital, INC in Stigler, about 22 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 Longtown 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.

What kind of town

Tourist town. About 1 in 4 homes is a vacation or seasonal home, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $184,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 16%Pittsburg County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income: $56,333U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 86%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $640 a yearOklahoma: $1,599
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 14%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 27%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 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Oklahoma outside metro areas, not Longtown 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 2,716The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 59.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 41%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 13%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%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 (26%); construction (15%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Haskell Regional Hospital, INC, Stigler, 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: McAlester Regional Health Center, McAlester, OK, about 26 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 Longtown, run by Carlton Landing Academy (charter). The nearest public high school is Eufaula 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 51%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 85%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: 25°F
July average high: 96°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 75 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 83 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.9 inches a year
Snow: 8 inches a year
Elevation: 612 feet

Weather stations: Webbers Falls 5 WSW (24 miles away) and Checotah (16 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

Haskell Regional Hospital, INCEmergency room22

Broken Arrow, OKCity of 125,00057

Tulsa, OKMetro of 1.1 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: Haskell Regional Hospital, Broken Arrow, Tulsa.

Pittsburg County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Longtown's history on Wikipedia.

Know Longtown?

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

Eufaula, OK2,900 people, 5 miles
Checotah, OK3,100 people, 17 miles
Warner, OK1,600 people, 21 miles
Stigler, OK2,700 people, 23 miles
Krebs, OK2,100 people, 24 miles
Wilburton, OK2,300 people, 25 miles

Smaller places

Carlton Landing, OK138 people, 3 miles
Texanna, OK (unincorporated)2,401 people, 8 miles
Enterprise, OK (unincorporated)124 people, 8 miles
Canadian, OK142 people, 9 miles
Quinton, OK845 people, 12 miles
Duchess Landing, OK (unincorporated)214 people, 12 miles
Crowder, OK295 people, 12 miles
Canadian Shores, OK (unincorporated)194 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.