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%

Bluejacket$1,100/mo

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

Ames$1,010/mo

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

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

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

BluejacketAmes

Snow a year—10″

January low—27°F

July high—96°F

Growing season (days)—208d

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

Outdoors & history

BluejacketAmes

Settled1871 1893

Archive photos1 1

Community

BluejacketAmes

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.

BluejacketOK AmesOK

Bluejacket ↔ Ames177 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

BluejacketAmes

People

Population 237Highest 220Lowest

Median age 47.6±9.3Highest 29% above OK 46.3±17Lowest 25% 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 27.8%±9.7Highest OK: 24% 17.7%±10Lowest OK: 24%

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

Age 65+ 22.8%±5.6Lowest OK: 16.3% 30.5%±13.4Highest 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+ 8.7%Lowest OK: 28.3% 15.8%Highest OK: 28.3%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.8%±2.6Highest OK: 5.8% 2.3%±5Lowest 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 $53,438±$14kHighest 18% below OK $49,231±$10kLowest 24% 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 $85,900±$10kLowest 57% below OK $95,900±$19kHighest 52% 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 $340Lowest 79% below OK $554Highest 65% below OK

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44.4%±100Highest OK: 46.3% 0%±100Lowest 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 23.3%Highest OK: 15.3% 16.4%Lowest OK: 15.3%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 10.9%±9Highest OK: 9.4% 0%±7.5Lowest 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 2.5%Highest 0%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 32.3 miLowest 51.3 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in AmesFew work in Bluejacket

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 80.8Lowest 96.9Highest

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.

Bluejacket neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bluejacket’s Town Square.

Ames neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ames’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Bluejacket

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Lamar160 people

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Pocasset181 people · $96K homes

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Butler250 people · $92K homes

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Alderson259 people · $85K 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.

Bluejacket vs Ames

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 Bluejacket and Ames

Towns like Bluejacket

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