Which is cheaper, Oklahoma City or Winston-Salem?

Oklahoma City is cheaper: about $2,712 per month versus $2,761 for one person.

Is Oklahoma City or Winston-Salem safer?

Oklahoma City and Winston-Salem score the same on safety (51), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Oklahoma City or Winston-Salem?

Winston-Salem: a measured median of 102.5 Mbps versus 67.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Oklahoma City vs Winston-Salem

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Winston-Salem edges it, 62 to 61, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Oklahoma City

out of 100

Cheap, sprawling capital with a rebuilt downtown and Thunder basketball

Full Oklahoma City profile →Plan a trip to Oklahoma City →

Winston-Salem

out of 100

Former tobacco town reinvented around medicine, research and the arts

Full Winston-Salem profile →Plan a trip to Winston-Salem →

Where they differ

Internet. Winston-Salem leads on internet, 84 to 78, against Oklahoma City. Measured download: 67.6 Mbps vs 102.5 Mbps.

Where they are close. Within five points on air quality, getting there & around, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.

Pick Oklahoma City if you want

to spend about $49 less a month

Pick Winston-Salem if you want

faster internet (102.5 Mbps measured)

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Oklahoma City	Winston-Salem
Cost of living	26 ✓	25
Safety	51	51
Healthcare	85	85
Internet	78	84 ✓
Visa ease	61	61
Getting there & around	9 ✓	7
Climate	50	50
Air quality	93	95 ✓
Quality of life	96	96

Cost

Metric	Oklahoma City	Winston-Salem
Monthly cost, one person	$2,712 ✓	$2,761
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Oklahoma City	Winston-Salem
Homicides per 100k	5.76	5.76
Political stability (0–100)	60.3	60.3
UHC service coverage (0–100)	88	88
Life expectancy	78.5 yrs	78.5 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Oklahoma City	Winston-Salem
Download	67.6 Mbps	102.5 Mbps ✓
Upload	11.9 Mbps ✓	11.6 Mbps

Visa

Metric	Oklahoma City	Winston-Salem
Nomad visa	none listed	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	no data	no data
Entry, US passport	home country	home country
Entry, EU passport	eTA required (online, before travel)	eTA required (online, before travel)
Entry, UK passport	eTA required (online, before travel)	eTA required (online, before travel)

Getting there and around

Metric	Oklahoma City	Winston-Salem
Non-stop airport destinations	27 ✓	15
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	2	2
Transit (1–5, editorial)	1	1

Climate and air

Metric	Oklahoma City	Winston-Salem
Comfortable months per year	6	6
Annual mean PM2.5	8 µg/m³	7.2 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Oklahoma City or Winston-Salem?: Oklahoma City is cheaper: about $2,712 per month versus $2,761 for one person.
Is Oklahoma City or Winston-Salem safer?: Oklahoma City and Winston-Salem score the same on safety (51), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Oklahoma City or Winston-Salem?: Winston-Salem: a measured median of 102.5 Mbps versus 67.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (all items); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.