A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Ames$1,010/mo

Typical home $177K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.58% · Housing →

Bluejacket$1,100/mo

Typical home $197K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.40% · or rent about $950/mo · Housing →

The difference: $80 a month, about $1,000 a year, between Bluejacket and Ames.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Oklahoma ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

–AmesNot graded C−BluejacketBetter than 16% of districts in the state

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

AmesBluejacket

Snow a year10″—

January low27°F —

July high96°F —

Growing season (days)208d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)90th 81st

Outdoors & history

AmesBluejacket

Settled1893 1871

Archive photos1 1

Community

AmesBluejacket

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

177 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

AmesOK BluejacketOK

Ames ↔ Bluejacket177 miles apart

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Oklahoma average

AmesBluejacket

People

Population 220Lowest 237Highest

Median age 46.3±17Lowest 25% above OK 47.6±9.3Highest 29% above OK

Bluejacket and Ames are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 17.7%±10Lowest OK: 24% 27.8%±9.7Highest OK: 24%

Bluejacket and Ames are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 30.5%±13.4Highest OK: 16.3% 22.8%±5.6Lowest OK: 16.3%

Ames and Bluejacket are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 15.8%Highest OK: 28.3% 8.7%Lowest OK: 28.3%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.3%±5Lowest OK: 5.8% 3.8%±2.6Highest OK: 5.8%

Bluejacket and Ames are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $49,231±$10kLowest 24% below OK $53,438±$14kHighest 18% below OK

Bluejacket and Ames are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $95,900±$19kHighest 52% below OK $85,900±$10kLowest 57% below OK

Ames and Bluejacket are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly — $950±$162 6% below OK

Property taxmedian, yearly $554Highest 65% below OK $340Lowest 79% below OK

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 0%±100Lowest OK: 46.3% 44.4%±100Highest OK: 46.3%

Bluejacket and Ames are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 16.4%Lowest OK: 15.3% 23.3%Highest OK: 15.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 90.2%Highest OK: 65.8% 89%Lowest OK: 65.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1973Highest 7 yrs older than OK 1967Lowest 13 yrs older than OK

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minHighest 16% above OK 21 minLowest 7% below OK

Work from home 0%±7.5Lowest OK: 9.4% 10.9%±9Highest OK: 9.4%

Bluejacket and Ames are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0%Lowest 2.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 51.3 miHighest 32.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.22Lowest 0.40Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Enid (15%)Welch (10%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in BluejacketFew work in Ames

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 96.9Highest 80.8Lowest

Schools

School district —BLUEJACKET

High school in town —Bluejacket HS

Students per teacherat that high school — 13.6

Oklahoma average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Ames neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ames’s Town Square.

Bluejacket neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bluejacket’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Ames and Bluejacket

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Ames

+ Compare

Butler250 people · $92K homes

+ Compare

Lamar160 people

+ Compare

Etowah138 people · $120K homes

+ Compare

Randlett252 people · $88K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Ames vs Bluejacket

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs about the same each month

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

177 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Ames and Bluejacket

Towns like Ames

Post to Ames

Check your email