The 3 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Lawton, OK for 2023

Lawton is located in southwestern Oklahoma, close to the Wichita Mountains, and is the seat of Comanche County. About 90,000 people call Lawton home, including more than 9,900 seniors aged 65 or older. Lawton is a military town, home to Fort Sill, but it also has numerous cultural attractions, including venues that offer ballet performances, concerts and Broadway shows. Seniors who are history buffs may enjoy the city’s historic homes, numerous landmarks and museums covering everything from military memorabilia to Native American heritage. Visiting grandkids might enjoy the local waterpark, indoor trampoline park or numerous city parks.

Assisted living communities offer seniors a homelike setting that promotes continued independence while also providing the extra help they might need with daily activities. In Lawton, the average cost of assisted living is $3,490 per month. This monthly cost is lower than the state average and significantly lower than the national average.

This guide provides information about assisted living in Lawton, including how its cost compares to other Oklahoma cities and other types of senior care. It also offers an overview of the benefits and drawbacks of retiring in Lawton and includes some free resources for senior services.

The Long-Term Care Service of Protective Health Services, a division of the Oklahoma Department of Health Services, oversees assisted living facilities in Lawton and throughout the state. It conducts annual surveys in each facility to ensure the health and safety of residents and performs follow-up visits to ensure that any deficiencies found were corrected.

• Retirees in Lawton benefit from Oklahoma’s relatively friendly taxes on retirement incomes. Seniors don’t pay taxes on Social Security benefits or Railroad Retirement benefits. The state also exempts up to 75% or $10,000 of military retirement plans, whichever is greater, from taxes. Other types of retirement income, up to $10,000 for singles or $20,000 for couples, may also be excluded.
• Oklahoma has one of the highest combined state and local sales tax rates in the nation, at an average of 8.95%. However, seniors in Lawton don’t pay nearly this much. Comanche County has one the lowest sales tax rates statewide, only 0.38%, for a total combined sales tax rate of 4.88%. The county has lower sales taxes than 97.8% of the rest of the counties and cities in the state. Also, prescription drugs are tax-exempt, which is beneficial to aging adults who may have ongoing medical issues.
• Lawton’s cost of living is 24% below the national average, which can be a major draw to seniors on fixed incomes. Groceries are 10% lower than the national average, despite being fully taxed, unlike many states. Unfortunately, health care costs are 16% higher than the national average.
• Seniors in Lawton have two local hospitals to choose from should they require emergency care. Comanche County Memorial Hospital and Southwestern Medical Center both have on-site emergency departments and medical-surgical ICUs. The county hospital also has a cardiac ICU.
• Lawton is far enough south that it experiences summer heat extremes with few cooling breezes. The summer climate in Lawton can be muggy and is among the hottest in the state, with average July temperatures of 96 degrees. However, winters are generally mild with only about 2 inches of snow annually.

According to Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey, the average monthly cost of assisted living in Lawton is $3,490. While this is only $260 lower than the state average, it’s $810 less than the national average.

Compared to other Oklahoma cities, Lawton’s average cost of assisted living is lower than most but not all of them. Its cost is higher than Enid’s by $530 per month, but it’s lower than Oklahoma City’s by $410. However, its cost is significantly lower than Tulsa’s by $1,029 per month. 

Seniors may also want to compare other types of care to determine which best meets their needs. Adult day health care offers the lowest level of care at the lowest cost, about $1,136 per month. Those wanting to age in place at home can expect to pay an average of $3,432 for either homemaker services or home health aides. Seniors who require extensive care, especially skilled nursing, may need a nursing home facility. This level of care comes at the highest cost with semiprivate rooms averaging $5,597 per month and private rooms at $6,540.

While many families use their own funds or personal assets to pay for assisted living, there are plenty of additional options to cover these costs. Some additional ways to finance assisted living costs include:

• Veterans Benefits
• Life Insurance Policy
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Reverse Mortgage

For more information about different ways to finance assisted living, visit our Assisted Living in Oklahoma page.