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%

Wagoner$1,120/mo

Typical home $189K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.84% · or rent about $868/mo · Housing →

Purcell$1,340/mo

Typical home $226K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.81% · or rent about $868/mo · Housing →

The difference: $220 a month, about $2,600 a year, between Purcell and Wagoner.

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

Purcell places higher on 11 of 21 OK lists

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−WagonerSafer than 21% of U.S. towns C−PurcellSafer than 20% of U.S. towns

Schools

B−WagonerBetter than 48% of districts in the state B+PurcellBetter than 71% of districts in the state

Health

C−WagonerHealthier than 18% of U.S. towns C−PurcellHealthier than 22% of U.S. towns

9Wagoner

11Purcell

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

Fastest growingGrowth · 134 towns #121#27 Most walkableOutdoors · 134 towns #40#110 Shortest commuteGetting around · 134 towns #111#46 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 134 towns #26#84 Most trailsOutdoors · 82 towns #63#29 Best schoolsSchools · 128 towns #98#60 Most conserved landOutdoors · 131 towns #24#61 Fewest smokersHealth · 134 towns #72#36

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

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

WagonerPurcell

Snow a year3″4″

January low26°F 28°F

July high93°F 93°F

Growing season (days)208d 212d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)60th 60th

Outdoors & history

WagonerPurcell

Trails2 mi 7 mi

Conserved land15.1%7.2%

Settled—1887

National Register places11 3

Archive photos12 —

Famous people born here11 —

Community

WagonerPurcell

Library hours a week48 hrs 61 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

130 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

WagonerOK PurcellOK

Wagoner ↔ Purcell130 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

WagonerPurcell

People

Population 8,082Highest 6,803Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -8.4%Lowest OK: +5.5% +13%Highest OK: +5.5%

Median age 36.5±2.4Highest about the OK average 35±3.7Lowest 5% below OK

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

Kids under 18 21.8%±3Lowest OK: 24% 27.6%±4Highest OK: 24%

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

Age 65+ 17.2%±2.7Highest OK: 16.3% 16.5%±3.4Lowest OK: 16.3%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 15%Lowest OK: 28.3% 17.2%Highest OK: 28.3%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5%±1.6Highest OK: 5.8% 3.6%±1.5Lowest OK: 5.8%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $57,917±$9kLowest 11% below OK $63,457±$5kHighest about the OK average

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $148,900±$11kLowest 25% below OK $171,600±$25kHighest 14% below OK

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $868±$42 14% below OK $868±$34 14% below OK

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,249Lowest 22% below OK $1,392Highest 13% below OK

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 44.5%±8.9Lowest OK: 46.3% 56.1%±13.7Highest OK: 46.3%

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

Below poverty line 16.1%Highest OK: 15.3% 14%Lowest OK: 15.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 58.5%Highest OK: 65.8% 57%Lowest OK: 65.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1976Lowest 4 yrs older than OK 1983Highest 3 yrs newer than OK

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minHighest 15% above OK 19 minLowest 14% below OK

Work from home 6.4%±2.9Lowest OK: 9.4% 8%±3.4Highest OK: 9.4%

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

Work in townworking residents 20.8%Highest 14.2%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 25.8 miHighest 23.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.88Highest 0.86Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Tulsa (22%)Oklahoma City (25%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in PurcellFew work in Wagoner

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 15.1%Highest 7.2%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 1.9 miLowest 6.9 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miLowest 0.4 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2Lowest 6Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 63.4Highest 24.9Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #98 of 128 in OK #60 of 128 in OK

School district WAGONERPURCELL

High school in town Wagoner HSPurcell HS

Students per teacherat that high school 16.1Lowest 16.4Highest

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.

Wagoner neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wagoner’s Town Square.

Purcell neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Purcell’s Town Square.

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Towns like Wagoner

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Tecumseh6,332 people · $123K 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.

Wagoner vs Purcell

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $220 more a month in Purcell

Purcell places higher on 11 of 21 OK lists

What daily life feels like in each

130 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Wagoner and Purcell

Towns like Wagoner

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