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

C+CushingSafer than 35% of U.S. towns CIdabelSafer than 28% of U.S. towns

Schools

A−CushingBetter than 81% of districts in the state CIdabelBetter than 28% of districts in the state

Health

DCushingHealthier than 11% of U.S. towns D−IdabelHealthier than 4% of U.S. towns

15Cushing

6Idabel

Lists won, of 23 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest graduation rateSchools · 119 towns #10#96 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 54 towns #4#27 Lowest obesityHealth · 134 towns #64#113 Most walkableOutdoors · 134 towns #35#83 Fastest growingGrowth · 134 towns #38#82 Best schoolsSchools · 128 towns #55#94 Most conserved landOutdoors · 131 towns #21#58 Most activeHealth · 134 towns #75#109

Left end = #1 in Oklahoma. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Cushing’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%

Cushing$840/mo

Typical home $145K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.66% · or rent about $798/mo · Housing →

Idabel$770/mo

Typical home $136K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.46% · or rent about $702/mo · Housing →

The difference: $70 a month, about $800 a year, between Cushing and Idabel.

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

CushingIdabel

Snow a year4″2″

January low26°F 29°F

July high93°F 94°F

Growing season (days)217d 221d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)53rd 40th

Outdoors & history

CushingIdabel

Trails1 mi 4 mi

Conserved land15.9%7.5%

Settled1891 1902

National Register places7 5

Archive photos12 15

Famous people born here7 12

Community

CushingIdabel

Library hours a week52 hrs 49 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

180 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

CushingOK IdabelOK

Cushing ↔ Idabel180 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

CushingIdabel

People

Population 8,367Highest 6,987Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +6.4%Highest OK: +5.5% -0.7%Lowest OK: +5.5%

Median age 35.7±3.4Highest 4% below OK 33±2.5Lowest 11% below OK

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

Kids under 18 24.5%±3.2Lowest OK: 24% 30.2%±3Highest OK: 24%

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

Age 65+ 16.1%±2.6Lowest OK: 16.3% 16.5%±2.9Highest OK: 16.3%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 15.9%Lowest OK: 28.3% 16.7%Highest OK: 28.3%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.1%±1.7Highest OK: 5.8% 2.2%±1Lowest OK: 5.8%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $44,136±$5kHighest 32% below OK $43,295±$7kLowest 33% below OK

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $114,500±$20kLowest 43% below OK $134,800±$32kHighest 33% below OK

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $798±$71Highest 21% below OK $702±$98Lowest 31% below OK

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $752Highest 53% below OK $618Lowest 61% below OK

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 38.1%±7.2Lowest OK: 46.3% 45.4%±9.2Highest OK: 46.3%

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

Below poverty line 22%Lowest OK: 15.3% 25.1%Highest OK: 15.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 55.2%Highest OK: 65.8% 54.8%Lowest OK: 65.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1958Lowest 22 yrs older than OK 1977Highest 3 yrs older than OK

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minLowest 15% below OK 20 minHighest 13% below OK

Work from home 4.3%±2Lowest OK: 9.4% 5.5%±2.5Highest OK: 9.4%

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

Work in townworking residents 23.9%Lowest 31.3%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 21.3 miHighest 17.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.88Lowest 1.14Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Stillwater (12%)Hochatown (11%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in IdabelFew work in Cushing

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 15.9%Highest 7.5%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 1.3 miLowest 4.0 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 mi 0.2 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 65.6Highest 40.4Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #55 of 128 in OK #94 of 128 in OK

School district CUSHINGIDABEL

High school in town Cushing HSIdabel HS

Students per teacherat that high school 13.9Lowest 18.8Highest

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.

Cushing neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cushing’s Town Square.

Idabel neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Idabel’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Towns like Cushing

+ Compare

Sallisaw8,605 people · $134K homes

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Seminole7,194 people · $104K homes

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Wagoner8,082 people · $149K 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.

Cushing vs Idabel

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Cushing places higher on 15 of 23 OK lists

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

180 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Cushing and Idabel

Towns like Cushing

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