Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Tulsa's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Tulsa?
Your $100,000 in Tulsa has the same purchasing power as $121,448 in the average US city. You'd need $21,448 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Tulsa's cost index of 82, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Tulsa? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: your dollar carries more weight here and walkable in a way most us cities aren't, plus 1 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Tulsa sits at 82 on the composite cost-of-living index — about 18% under the national average. Not the cheapest place in the country, but enough of a discount to notice on rent and groceries every month. Median rent in town runs about $958/mo against a typical household income of $56,648, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
Tulsa earns a Walk Score of 60/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
The average one-way commute in Tulsa is about 19 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Tulsa's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Tulsa gets a handful of meaningful snow days each year. Winters average about 30°F — cold enough for several inches at a time, warm enough for everything to melt between storms.
Cold but workable. Winter in Tulsa averages about 30°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Genuinely hot. Summer in Tulsa averages about 92°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Tulsa falls in roughly USDA Zone 8. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Tulsa is at about 728 feet (222 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Higher than average. Tulsa reports about 5,277 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. Tulsa's composite cost-of-living index is 82, roughly 18% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Somewhat. Tulsa earns a Walk Score of 60/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips. Transit Score is 31 out of 100.
Roughly $57,638 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Tulsa runs about $958/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.