PRYOR - Pryor was named the sixth least-expensive community to live in by a recent nationwide study. The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) puts the list together. A team of analysts looks at pricing data for more than 60 goods and services, from a loaf of bread to housing.
Analysts then compare prices to incomes in the community. John Hawkins with the Pryor Chamber of Commerce believes part of the reason the city finished so high is because of fiscal discipline by elected officials and low utility rates. "We own our own utility system. We have a school system that usually or is always very judicious about how they spend the revenues they have, which keeps our overall property taxes down," said Hawkins.
The report also said Pryor was the least-expensive when it comes to dental service. Pryor dentist Ken Rains attributes this to the number of people in the area with dental insurance. "Because of the area we live in with the industrial park, because of the amount of dental insurance we have here," said Rains. Cathe Smith, who owns a barbershop downtown, lived all over the country before moving to Pryor 12 years ago.
"The cost of living is cheaper in all aspects actually," said Smith. She said haircuts in some places averaged $14. "I came down to Pryor, started off at $7," said Smith. "Now I'm a whopping $10."Pryor was not the only Oklahoma city ranked in the top ten. Ardmore, in southern Oklahoma, finished as the third least-expensive city to live in.