What is the population of McAlester city?

McAlester city has 18,098 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #29 of 846 in Oklahoma.

What is the median household income in McAlester city?

Median household income in McAlester city is $48,044 a year, 38.8% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in McAlester city?

Median gross rent is $906 a month and the median home value is $137,500, so rent absorbs about 22.6% of median household income.

Is McAlester city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 2.9× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so McAlester city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 22.6% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

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Oklahoma · Census place 44800

McAlester, OK population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of McAlester, Oklahoma (McAlester, OK — Census place “McAlester city”) is 18,098 residents, ranking #29 of 846 places in Oklahoma. Median household income is $48,044, the median home is worth $137,500 and median gross rent runs $906 a month. Looking for the McAlester Oklahoma ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve McAlester, OK: 74501.

Population: 18,098McAlester city residents
Median household income: $48,044Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $137,500Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $906Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 35.9 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 58.4%Owner-occupied households

McAlester ZIP codes (Oklahoma)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps McAlester.

The McAlester OK ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

74501

What the numbers mean in McAlester city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the McAlester city median would spend about 22.6% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 2.9× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 22.2% of residents and 58.4% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

McAlester city, OK in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

McAlester city is a mid-size town in Oklahoma, with 18,098 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #29 of 846 ranked by population — larger than 96% of them. The median age here is 35.9 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in McAlester city earn a median of $48,044 a year, 38.8% below the national figure of $78,538 and 10% below the $53,500 median for the 240 Oklahoma cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 22.2% of residents here, well above the 12.4% national rate, which is the single clearest signal in this dataset that median income here is carried by a narrow band of households.

The typical owner-occupied home in McAlester city is valued at $137,500, 54.7% below the national figure and 9% above the $125,800 peer median, while median gross rent runs $906 a month, 35.6% below the national figure, or roughly $10,872 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 22.6% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.9×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 58.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in Oklahoma.

More Oklahoma coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of McAlester city?: McAlester city has 18,098 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #29 of 846 in Oklahoma.
What is the median household income in McAlester city?: Median household income in McAlester city is $48,044 a year, 38.8% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in McAlester city?: Median gross rent is $906 a month and the median home value is $137,500, so rent absorbs about 22.6% of median household income.
Is McAlester city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 2.9× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so McAlester city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 22.6% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this McAlester city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.