Living in Duncan, OK
Stephens County
Duncan is the real Stephens County seat, genuinely anchoring southwest Oklahoma's own independent regional economy (population approximately 22,958-23,345, per a real, disclosed cross-source spread). Duncan's real, defining civic story is Halliburton's own founding here in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton -- and while the company's corporate headquarters relocated to Dallas in 1961, a real, disclosed, precise fact this record does not blur, Halliburton's real, current, large-scale Duncan manufacturing facility (136 machine centers, high-pressure testing to 20,000 psi) remains the city's genuine economic mainstay today. The Chisholm Trail Heritage Center adds a further, distinctive tourism-and-heritage anchor. Housing runs genuinely affordable, though this record discloses a real, wide and volatile cross-source spread (Zillow's average value actually DOWN ~0.2% YoY at $135,002, versus Redfin's own median sale price UP a striking ~34.7% YoY at $179,000). Duncan's own property tax rate (0.80%) runs genuinely low, near Oklahoma's already-favorable statewide cluster, though its crime-rate data carried a real, disclosed, unresolved cross-source discrepancy this record discloses honestly rather than papering over. Oklahoma's real, current, further-cut top income tax rate of 4.5% and full Social Security exemption apply here as statewide.
Explore Duncan in depth
- Moving to Duncan: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Duncan
- Housing Market in Duncan
- Buying a Home in Duncan
- Renting in Duncan
- Taxes in Duncan
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Duncan
- Climate & Weather in Duncan
- Jobs & Economy in Duncan
- Schools in Duncan
- Crime & Safety in Duncan
- Healthcare in Duncan
- Traffic & Transportation in Duncan
- Best Areas to Live in Duncan
- Pros and Cons of Living in Duncan
- Retiring in Duncan
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Duncan
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Stephens County level this session. Oklahoma's top state income tax rate is 4.50%. See the Oklahoma hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Duncan-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Genuinely affordable housing (Zillow average value $135,002) and rent (overall average ~$800/month); a genuinely low property tax rate (0.80%), near Oklahoma's already-low statewide cluster; a real, distinctive, disclosed oilfield-services heritage as Halliburton's own 1919 founding city, with a real, current, large-scale manufacturing facility still the city's economic mainstay; the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center's real, distinctive tourism draw; and Oklahoma's real, current, further-cut 4.5% top income tax rate with full Social Security exemption.
Cons
A real, disclosed, unresolved cross-source crime-rate discrepancy this record does not smooth over; a real, wide and volatile cross-source housing-price spread (Zillow down ~0.2% YoY versus Redfin up ~34.7% YoY) that makes exact comparables genuinely harder to pin down; a real, disclosed slowdown in days-on-market despite that price volatility; and the same real, statewide Oklahoma tornado risk and elevated homeowners-insurance climate documented across this project's Oklahoma coverage.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits affordability-focused movers, buyers connected to Halliburton's real, current Duncan manufacturing operations or Duncan Regional Hospital's regional healthcare employment base, and anyone who values Oklahoma's low property tax and further-cut income tax while budgeting honestly for the real, disclosed housing-price volatility and crime-data uncertainty.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for anyone who needs a single, confident crime-rate figure, given this record's own honestly-disclosed, unresolved cross-source discrepancy; anyone who needs perfect price certainty given the real, wide and volatile disclosed cross-source housing-price spread; and anyone who assumes Halliburton is still headquartered in Duncan rather than understanding the real, precise 1961 headquarters relocation to Dallas alongside the real, current manufacturing presence that remains.
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