Pros and Cons of Living in Altus

Altus's real, honest trade-offs center on a strong military-community identity and genuine affordability weighed against a wide housing-price spread and a high combined sales tax.

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Pro: a real, singularly defining Altus AFB military identity

Altus Air Force Base's 97th Air Mobility Wing and its approximately 5,000-strong total area military/family/civilian/retiree community form a genuine, defining economic and social anchor (base record).

Pro: genuinely affordable housing and substantially below-average crime

Zillow's own typical home value ran as low as approximately $100,088, and Altus's overall crime rate ran approximately 48% below the national average -- genuine, disclosed strengths (base record).

Con: a real, disclosed, genuinely wide housing-price spread

Home-price figures ranged from approximately $100,088 to $214,783 across sources this pass -- a real, genuinely wide spread buyers should verify directly before relocating (base record).

Con: a real, high combined sales tax and middling school rating

Altus's combined sales tax (~9.76%) runs genuinely high, and its average school rating (~6/10) per one cited source runs honestly middling (base record).

Key takeaways

Altus AFB's own defining military-community identity and genuine affordability are real strengths.
Altus's crime rate runs substantially below the national average, per the primary cited source.
A real, disclosed, genuinely wide housing-price spread ($100,088-$214,783) requires direct verification.
The combined sales tax (~9.76%) runs genuinely high, and school ratings run honestly middling.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-27. Independent research; not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.