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.

Safety

B−ChecotahSafer than 45% of U.S. towns CNowataSafer than 27% of U.S. towns

Schools

B+ChecotahBetter than 68% of districts in the state CNowataBetter than 28% of districts in the state

Health

D−ChecotahHealthier than 2% of U.S. towns D−NowataHealthier than 4% of U.S. towns

5Checotah

16Nowata

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most walkableOutdoors · 134 towns #104#10 Shortest commuteGetting around · 134 towns #31#116 Best schoolsSchools · 128 towns #65#120 Most new homesHousing · 128 towns #77#40 SafestSafety · 127 towns #44#80 Highest incomeIncome · 134 towns #129#94 Highest graduation rateSchools · 119 towns #96#66 Lowest obesityHealth · 134 towns #113#82

Left end = #1 in Oklahoma. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Checotah’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

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%

Checotah$890/mo

Typical home $157K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.53% · or rent about $768/mo · Housing →

Nowata$880/mo

Typical home $153K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.66% · or rent about $752/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

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.

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

ChecotahNowata

Snow a year8″8″

January low—22°F

July high—93°F

Growing season (days)—192d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)55th 73rd

Outdoors & history

ChecotahNowata

Trails—4 mi

Conserved land—1.6%

Settled1893 1889

National Register places7 2

Archive photos17 8

Famous people born here9 10

Community

ChecotahNowata

Library hours a week54 hrs 29 hrs

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

84 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

ChecotahOK NowataOK

Checotah ↔ Nowata84 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

ChecotahNowata

People

Population 3,064Lowest 3,542Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -9.5%Lowest OK: +5.5% -5.7%Highest OK: +5.5%

Median age 39.4±5.6Highest 6% above OK 37.8±1.6Lowest about the OK average

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

Kids under 18 21.7%±5.2Lowest OK: 24% 24.4%±4Highest OK: 24%

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

Age 65+ 20.9%±4.3Highest OK: 16.3% 18.8%±3.6Lowest OK: 16.3%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 10.7%Lowest OK: 28.3% 13.2%Highest OK: 28.3%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.4%±1.5Highest OK: 5.8% 3.1%±1.8Lowest OK: 5.8%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $37,042±$3kLowest 43% below OK $47,776±$12kHighest 27% below OK

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $124,900±$16kHighest 37% below OK $89,900±$12kLowest 55% below OK

Rentmedian gross, monthly $768±$114Highest 24% below OK $752±$215Lowest 26% below OK

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $666Highest 58% below OK $591Lowest 63% below OK

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 48.9%±16.7Highest OK: 46.3% 30%±14.3Lowest OK: 46.3%

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

Below poverty line 18.8%Lowest OK: 15.3% 25.5%Highest OK: 15.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 58.1%Lowest OK: 65.8% 61%Highest 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 18 minLowest 21% below OK 27 minHighest 18% above OK

Work from home 8.5%±5.4Highest OK: 9.4% 8.3%±4.3Lowest OK: 9.4%

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

Work in townworking residents 19%Lowest 25.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 25.8 miHighest 23.8 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.31Highest 0.98Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Muskogee (13%)Bartlesville (15%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in NowataFew work in Checotah

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 2.1%Highest 1.6%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 0.7 miLowest 3.6 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.1 miLowest 1.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 1Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 29.8Lowest 87.8Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #65 of 128 in OK #120 of 128 in OK

School district CHECOTAHNOWATA

High school in town Checotah HSNowata HS

Students per teacherat that high school 16.6Highest 14.8Lowest

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.

Checotah neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Checotah’s Town Square.

Nowata neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Nowata’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Checotah and Nowata

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Towns like Checotah

+ Compare

Stigler2,729 people · $164K homes

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Muldrow3,309 people · $114K homes

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Pawhuska2,930 people · $114K homes

+ Compare

Krebs2,119 people · $106K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Oklahoma towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Checotah vs Nowata

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

Nowata places higher on 16 of 21 OK lists

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

84 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Checotah and Nowata

Towns like Checotah

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