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 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood21 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.9 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 22.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town9 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 3 high schools.
- A hospital close byPrague Regional Memorial Hospital in Prague, about 18 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityOklahoma City is about 51 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 Seminole 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
- $103,600U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 12%Seminole County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $744 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $39,121U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 57%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $731 a yearOklahoma: $1,599
- Homes built before 1940
- 13%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 4%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: county prices have moved up 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Oklahoma outside metro areas, not Seminole 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
- 7,3932020: 7,120
- Median age
- 33.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 16%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 25%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 14%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 7%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 6%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
- Retail (19%); schools, health care and social services (17%); manufacturing (14%)
- Unemployment rate
- 7%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 4%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 28%U.S.: 12%
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 18 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: SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital - Shawnee, Shawnee, OK, about 19 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
9 public schools in Seminole, run by Seminole and Academy of Seminole (charter).
Colleges in or next to town: Seminole State College (1,000 to 4,999 students).
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
- 59%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
- 26°F
- July average high
- 95°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 82 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 79 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 43.2 inches a year
- Snow
- 4 inches a year
- Elevation
- 936 feet
Weather station: Seminole (less than a 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: Prague Regional Memorial Hospital, Norman, Oklahoma City.
Seminole 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
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Chickasaw National Recreation Area53 miles
Read about Seminole's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Wewoka, OK3,000 people, 11 miles
- Tecumseh, OK6,400 people, 16 miles
- Holdenville, OK5,900 people, 17 miles
- Prague, OK2,400 people, 18 miles
- Shawnee, OK32,000 people, 20 miles
- Konawa, OK1,200 people, 20 miles
Smaller places
- Bowlegs, OK358 people, 6 miles
- Dixon, OK (unincorporated)150 people, 9 miles
- Maud, OK877 people, 10 miles
- Earlsboro, OK620 people, 11 miles
- Cromwell, OK228 people, 13 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.