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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

16Nowata

5Checotah

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

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

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

Nowata$880/mo

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

Checotah$890/mo

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

NowataChecotah

Snow a year8″8″

January low22°F —

July high93°F —

Growing season (days)192d —

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

Outdoors & history

NowataChecotah

Trails4 mi —

Conserved land1.6%—

Settled1889 1893

National Register places2 7

Archive photos8 17

Famous people born here10 9

Community

NowataChecotah

Library hours a week29 hrs 54 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.

NowataOK ChecotahOK

Nowata ↔ Checotah84 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

NowataChecotah

People

Population 3,542Highest 3,064Lowest

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

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

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

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

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

Age 65+ 18.8%±3.6Lowest OK: 16.3% 20.9%±4.3Highest 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+ 13.2%Highest OK: 28.3% 10.7%Lowest OK: 28.3%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 3.1%±1.8Lowest OK: 5.8% 3.4%±1.5Highest 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 $47,776±$12kHighest 27% below OK $37,042±$3kLowest 43% 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 $89,900±$12kLowest 55% below OK $124,900±$16kHighest 37% below OK

Rentmedian gross, monthly $752±$215Lowest 26% below OK $768±$114Highest 24% 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 $591Lowest 63% below OK $666Highest 58% below OK

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 30%±14.3Lowest OK: 46.3% 48.9%±16.7Highest 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 25.5%Highest OK: 15.3% 18.8%Lowest OK: 15.3%

Housing

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

Work from home 8.3%±4.3Lowest OK: 9.4% 8.5%±5.4Highest 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 25.5%Highest 19%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 23.8 miLowest 25.8 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in ChecotahFew work in Nowata

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 1.6%Lowest 2.1%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 3.6 miHighest 0.7 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.1 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Highest 0Lowest

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

Schools

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

School district NOWATACHECOTAH

High school in town Nowata HSChecotah HS

Students per teacherat that high school 14.8Lowest 16.6Highest

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.

Nowata neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Nowata’s Town Square.

Checotah neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Checotah’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Nowata and Checotah

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

Towns like Nowata

+ Compare

Muldrow3,309 people · $114K homes

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Vinita5,300 people · $96K homes

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Pawhuska2,930 people · $114K homes

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Chandler2,899 people · $111K 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.

Nowata vs Checotah

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 Nowata and Checotah

Towns like Nowata

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