Every City in the USA

Cost of living · OK

Cost of living in Tulsa, OK.

What does it cost to live in Tulsa, OK? Based on 7 federal sources (BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026, EIA energy prices, IRS/state tax), a single adult's modeled annual budget is $50,015 and a family of four's is $88,023 (2025).

BEA Regional Price Parities

Cost of living vs the U.S.

Applies to the Tulsa, OK metropolitan area.

Category Index (U.S. = 100) vs U.S.
All items 89.2 −10.8%
Goods 93.8 −6.2%
Rents 68.2 −31.8%
Utilities 73.9 −26.1%
Other services 95.5 −4.5%

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 · Tulsa, OK metro area · methodology →

ACS 5-Year 2020–2024

Owner costs.

Owner cost & property tax — place-grain from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Median monthly selected owner costs (SMOC) cover mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and condo fees where applicable; real-estate taxes paid is the median property-tax bill for owner-occupied units.

Measure Estimate ± margin / note
Median monthly owner cost (with mortgage) 1,561 ±25
Median monthly owner cost (no mortgage) 586 ±11
Median real-estate taxes paid (owner-occupied) 2,005 ±44

Source: ACS 5-Year 2020–2024 · ACS 5-Year Estimates 2020-2024 (released 2026-01-29) · place-grain · methodology →

For rent figures (HUD Fair Market Rent, SAFMR ZIP-grain), see Housing on the Tulsa profile.

EIA State Energy Prices

State energy prices.

Utility prices in Oklahoma — applies to Oklahoma statewide (electricity and natural gas) or its PADD region (gasoline). Residential rates are state averages, not what any specific household pays.

Measure Value Grain / observation
Residential electricity 12.9¢/kWh Oklahoma statewide · monthly · 2026-02
Residential natural gas $10.52/Mcf Oklahoma statewide · monthly · 2026-02
Retail gasoline $4.49/gal PADD 2 (Midwest) · weekly · week ending 2026-05-11

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) · state-grain · methodology →

Census Gov Finances FY2022

State tax burden.

Tax burden in Oklahoma — combined state + local taxes per capita, from the U.S. Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (FY2022). Population denominator: Census PEP 2022 state estimate. State-grain only; this is revenue divided by people, not a household tax bill. "vs U.S. state average" compares one state to the unweighted mean across all 51 states + DC.

Measure Value vs U.S. state average
Total state + local taxes per capita $5,025 6,836 avg · -26%
Property taxes per capita $940 1,886 avg · -50%
Sales & gross receipts taxes per capita $2,096 2,255 avg · -7%
Individual income taxes per capita $1,034 1,617 avg · -36%
Corporate income taxes per capita $202 393 avg · -49%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances · FY2022 · state-grain · methodology →

State Income Tax TY2025

State income tax.

Measure Value Note
Top state income tax rate (single filer) 4.75% 6 brackets, progressive · TY2025
Effective state income tax at $75k (single) 4.10% after $6,350 standard deduction · TY2025
Full 6-bracket schedule
Income range (single) Marginal rate
$0 – $1,000 0.25%
$1,000 – $2,500 0.75%
$2,500 – $3,750 1.75%
$3,750 – $4,900 2.75%
$4,900 – $7,200 3.75%
$7,200+ 4.75%

Single filer rates for tax year 2025. Standard deduction $6,350 single matches the federal TY2017 level (Oklahoma did not conform to federal TCJA increase).

Income tax: state-level only. Local income taxes (e.g., NYC resident tax, Yonkers surcharge, Portland-OR Metro tax, Maryland county tax, Philadelphia wage tax, OH/KY/MI city income taxes) appear in the Local income tax section below when modeled. Effective rate at $75k is illustrative only — single filer with state standard deduction, no itemized deductions, no credits.

Source: Oklahoma Tax Commission · TY2025 · state-grain · methodology →

Tax Foundation TY2025

State + local sales tax.

Measure Rate Note
State sales tax rate 4.50% statutory state rate · TY2025
Avg local sales tax rate 4.50% population-weighted state average · Tax Foundation TY2025
Combined sales tax rate 9.00% state + avg local · TY2025

Sales tax: state-grain. The "average local rate" is Tax Foundation's population-weighted state-average; actual local rates vary by city, county, and special taxing district. Selective sales taxes (hotels, meals, car rentals) and excise taxes (gasoline, tobacco, alcohol) are excluded.

Source: Tax Foundation · state statutes · TY2025 · methodology →

USDA Food Plans + Food Atlas

Food and grocery access.

Food and grocery access. USDA national food-cost reference plus USDA Food Environment Atlas county-level food access. National plan values are not adjusted for local prices.

Measure Value Grain / source
Thrifty Food Plan, family of 4 $996/mo national reference, USDA CNPP
Moderate-Cost Plan, family of 4 $1,341/mo national reference, USDA CNPP
Liberal Plan, family of 4 $1,619/mo national reference, USDA CNPP
Grocery stores per 1,000 pop n/a county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2020
Low food-access population share 37.6% county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2019
SNAP participation rate 16.7% county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2022

Food Atlas county: Osage County, OK. USDA Food Plans observation: July 2025. Alaska and Hawaii shoppers should expect substantially higher prices than the national figure. See food methodology.

Monthly Household Budget Benchmark

Household budget.

Monthly Household Budget Benchmark — estimated monthly cost of basic needs, composed from federal public-domain sources. Two compositions: single adult (1BR rental) and family of four, two adults working, two children ages 4 and 8 (3BR rental). Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite index. Methodology informed by the MIT Living Wage Calculator and EPI Family Budget Calculator; figures independently computed from primary federal sources.

Single adult · 1BR rental

ComponentMonthlyGrain / source
Housing (1BR rental)$1,030/moHUD SAFMR FY2026, ZIP 74112
Food$256/monational, USDA Low-Cost Plan 2025, state price-adjusted
Transportation$1,041/monational, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Healthcare (out-of-pocket)$159/monational, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Internet + cellular$122/monational, BLS CEX 2024 (no sub-state federal source for ISP price)
Other necessities$457/monational, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Civic engagement$297/monational, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Taxes (federal + FICA + state)$806/moTY2025, iteratively solved
Total monthly$4,168/momixed grain
Total annual$50,015/yrmixed grain
Gross income required (pre-tax)$50,015/yrmixed grain, TY2025 tax solver

Single adult, no dependents, single filing status.

Family of four · 3BR rental

Two adults working, two children (ages 4 and 8). Married Filing Jointly.

ComponentMonthlyGrain / source
Housing (3BR rental)$1,670/moHUD SAFMR FY2026, ZIP 74112, 3BR
Food$970/monational, USDA Family-of-4 Plan 2025, state price-adjusted
Childcare$1,577/moCenter-based preschool + school-age, NDCP 2022 county-grain, inflated by BLS CPI factor 1.2293 (2026-M04)
Transportation$1,041/monational, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Healthcare (out-of-pocket)$159/monational, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Internet + cellular$122/monational, BLS CEX 2024 (no sub-state federal source for ISP price)
Other necessities$457/monational, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Civic engagement$297/monational, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Taxes (federal + FICA + state, MFJ)$1,043/moTY2025, iteratively solved, MFJ + EITC + CTC
Total monthly$7,335/momixed grain
Total annual$88,023/yrmixed grain
Gross income required (pre-tax, combined)$88,023/yrmixed grain, TY2025 MFJ solver

Includes CTC $4,400/yr (TY2025 federal credits, MFJ).

Note: USDA family-of-4 food plan uses children ages 6–8 and 9–11; childcare modeled at ages 4 and 8. Small ~5% age-band inconsistency documented in methodology.

Component grains range from ZIP or county (housing, per HUD SAFMR/FMR coverage) to national (CEX-based rows adjusted to state price level via BEA Regional Price Parities). Childcare: county-grain DOL NDCP 2022, inflated by BLS CPI Child Care subindex (factor 1.2293, Jan 2022 → Apr 2026). Local income tax modeled for ~3,100+ jurisdictions in 16 states. Not a recommended salary; not a poverty threshold; components are not weighted into a composite score. See household budget methodology, family-of-four methodology, and local income tax methodology.

Methodology

How these figures are computed.

Every figure on this page comes from a primary federal source. No composite index is produced; figures are presented per-component with grain labels so readers can trace each number to its source.

Sources · provenance

Datasets on this page.

The GEOID for Tulsa is 4075000. Datasets used on this cost-of-living sub-page only. Full per-dataset detail: /sources/.

BEA Regional Price Parities
2024 · methodology · source
ACS 5-Year (B25088, B25103)
2020–2024 · methodology · source
EIA State Energy Prices
2026-02 · methodology · source
Census Gov Finances (state tax burden)
FY2022 · methodology · source
State income tax brackets
TY2025 · methodology · source
Tax Foundation Sales Tax Rates
TY2025 · methodology · source
USDA CNPP Food Plans + ERS Food Atlas
July 2025 · methodology · source
Monthly Household Budget Benchmark (F1 + F2)
composite · 2024–2026 · methodology · all sources