State comparison
Alabama vs Oklahoma: which state is better to live in?
Alabama costs a median household about $370 a year less in state and local taxes than Oklahoma, mostly because property tax on a median home runs $850 a year against $1,828 in Oklahoma.
Alabama
Moderate tax burden · COL index 87
Wins 5 categories
Oklahoma
Moderate tax burden · COL index 87
Wins 8 categories
Taxes: Alabama vs Oklahoma
Alabama has a graduated income tax topping out at 5%, which works out to 4.9% on a median income of $74,580, or $3,689 a year. Oklahoma has a graduated income tax topping out at 4.75%, which works out to 4.2% on a median income of $74,580, or $3,141 a year. Oklahoma wins on income tax at 2026 rates.
Property tax is 0.39% of home value a year in Alabama and 0.85% in Oklahoma (Tax Foundation, 2023); on each state's median home that is $850 against $1,828, so Alabama has the lower rate.
Combined state and local sales tax averages 9.22% in Alabama and 8.97% in Oklahoma; Oklahoma is lower.
Add it up for a household earning $74,580 (the 2022 national median) and owning the median home: $6,602 a year in Alabama, $6,976 in Oklahoma. Alabama is cheaper on total state and local tax.
Housing and cost of living
Alabama's cost of living index is 87 and Oklahoma's is 87, where 100 is the national average; the two are level.
The median home costs $218K in Alabama and $215K in Oklahoma (Zillow, 2024), a $3K gap in Oklahoma's favor. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,050 a month in Alabama and $1,000 in Oklahoma.
Home insurance averages $2,400 a year in Alabama and $5,200 in Oklahoma, so Alabama is cheaper to insure.
Safety
Violent crime runs 547 incidents per 100,000 residents in Alabama and 449 in Oklahoma (FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2023); Oklahoma is the safer state by that measure, with a rate 22% lower. Property crime is 2,247 per 100,000 in Alabama against 2,840 in Oklahoma, again favoring Alabama.
Health
Life expectancy is 73.2 years in Alabama and 73.6 in Oklahoma (County Health Rankings, 2024), a 0.4-year edge for Oklahoma. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Alabama's health system 41st of 50 and Oklahoma's 50th, so Alabama scores better on care.
11.2% of Alabama residents have no health insurance against 14.3% in Oklahoma, which favors Alabama. Oklahoma expanded Medicaid and Alabama did not.
Schools
Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Alabama's K-12 schools 44th in the country and Oklahoma's 43rd, 1 places apart in Oklahoma's favor. Both states run school-choice voucher programs.
Laws and politics
In the 2024 presidential election Alabama went to Trump by 28 points and Oklahoma went to Trump by 33 points.
Alabama has permitless carry and a Giffords gun-law grade of F; Oklahoma has permitless carry and a grade of F.
Abortion is banned with narrow exceptions in both states, and marijuana is medical only in both as of 2026. The minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in Alabama and $7.25 in Oklahoma.
Climate and risk
Natural disaster risk is moderate in Alabama (tornado, flood) and very high in Oklahoma (tornado, drought, ice-storm), so Alabama is the lower-risk state. Annual average air quality index is 38 in Alabama and 38 in Oklahoma (under 50 is good).
Tax figures use a household earning the national median income and owning each state's median home, at tax year 2026 rates, last checked against state sources on 2026-09-14. The table below has every number.
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
Crime & Safety
Healthcare
Education
Childcare
Utilities & Daily Costs
Social Policy
Category wins
5
Alabama
8
Oklahoma
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Score For My Profile →Questions people ask
Is Alabama or Oklahoma better to live in?
Oklahoma wins more of the measures that decide a move. Alabama on taxes ($6,602 a year for a median household against $6,976); Oklahoma on safety (449 violent crimes per 100,000 against 547); Oklahoma on schools (ranked 43rd against 44th).
Which is cheaper, Alabama or Oklahoma?
Day-to-day costs are level: both states sit at a cost of living index of 87. The median home is $218K in Alabama and $215K in Oklahoma (2024). On state and local taxes Alabama saves a median household about $370 a year.
Does Alabama or Oklahoma have lower taxes?
Alabama. A household earning $74,580 pays about $6,602 a year in Alabama ($3,689 income tax, $850 property tax on the median home and $2,063 in sales tax) and $6,976 in Oklahoma ($3,141 income tax, $1,828 property tax on the median home and $2,007 in sales tax), at 2026 rates.
Which is safer, Alabama or Oklahoma?
Oklahoma, on the FBI's 2023 figures. Violent crime is 547 per 100,000 residents in Alabama and 449 in Oklahoma; property crime is 2,247 against 2,840.
Which has better schools, Alabama or Oklahoma?
Oklahoma. Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Alabama 44th of 50 for K-12 and Oklahoma 43rd.
Is Alabama or Oklahoma better for retirees?
Alabama is friendlier to retirees on paper. Alabama does not tax Social Security, exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax; Oklahoma does not tax Social Security, partly exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax. Property tax on a median home is $850 a year in Alabama and $1,828 in Oklahoma.