The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Oklahoma


The most dangerous places in Oklahoma are Tulsa and Ardmore for 2025 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most dangerous cities in Oklahoma research summary. We analyzed the most recent FBI crime data using Saturday Night Science to determine the most dangerous cities in Oklahoma.

We examined the violent and property crime per capita statistics for every place with over 5,000 residents. In total, we analyzed 75 Oklahoma cities. Here are the results of our analysis:

  • The most dangerous city in Oklahoma is Tulsa based on the most recent FBI crime data.

  • The violent crime rate in Oklahoma is 941 per 100k people.

  • The property crime rate in Oklahoma is 3,627 per 100k people.

  • The safest city in Oklahoma is Piedmont.

  • Oklahoma is the 12th most dangerous state in the United States.

Most Dangerous Cities In Oklahoma Map


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Table | Methodology | FAQs | References


Everything is not ‘okie dokie’ in Oklahoma’s most dangerous cities.

We’re not talking about the kind of problems that give Ada’s hometown hero, Blake Shelton, sad lyrics for his country songs. We’re talking about the kind of danger that has landed Oklahoma as the 12th most dangerous state in the country.

We consulted the numbers and analyzed 75 cities with over 5,000 residents. The FBI’s latest crime report provides data on violent and property crime per capita statistics, which we ordered from highest to lowest. We discovered that Oklahoma’s violent and property crime rates are most felt in the areas around Tulsa and Muskogee.

The Most Dangerous Cities In Oklahoma For 2025

  1. Tulsa
  2. Ardmore
  3. Muskogee
  4. Del City
  5. Sallisaw
  6. Oklahoma City
  7. Lawton
  8. Anadarko
  9. Okmulgee
  10. Warr Acres

What is the most dangerous place in Oklahoma for 2025? The most dangerous city in Oklahoma is Tulsa.

There’s a direct correlation between places in Oklahoma with high unemployment rates and poverty with high crime.

If you want to know where the most dangerous places in Oklahoma are, look at the report below.

For more Oklahoma reading, check out:

The 10 Most Dangerous Places To Live In Oklahoma For 2025

Tulsa, OK

Source: Wikipedia User Caleb Long | CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 411,310
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 941 (Third most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 3,627 (Most dangerous)
Murders: 39
More on Tulsa: Data

Oklahoma’s second biggest city and the cultural center of the state’s northeast, Tulsa ranks as the most dangerous place to live in Oklahoma for 2025. Tulsa had the third highest violent crime rate in Oklahoma, recording 39 murders in 2024.

Overall, residents had a 1 in 106 chance of being the victim of a robbery, rape, assault, or murder. That’s a good enough reason to stay buddied up when you’re in Tulsa’s worst neighborhoods.

Property crime is also a big deal in Tulsa, especially burglaries. There were 3,073 burglaries in 2024 overall, giving the city the fifth highest burglary rate statewide. We just hope there’s enough security at the Philbrook Museum of Art to stop any would-be heisters.

Ardmore, OK

Source: Wikipedia User Emersonbiggins85 at English Wikipedia | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 24,886
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 1,141 (Most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 3,106 (Seventh most dangerous)
Murders: 2
More on Ardmore: Data

Ardmore’s crime rate became much higher since last year, landing it in the #2 spot for 2025. Violent crime went up, and property crime rose too, in recent years — not a great combo.

Ardmore ended up with the highest violent crime rate in Oklahoma thanks to these gains. That works out to about four violent crimes per week, with the majority being aggravated assaults.

So if you don’t want to end up the protagonist of a horror movie, bring a friend with you when you go out for a hike at Lake Murray State Park.

Muskogee, OK

Source: Wikipedia User Valis55 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 36,898
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 986 (Second most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,948 (Ninth most dangerous)
Murders: 4
More on Muskogee: Data

You’d think having a castle and a submarine around, Muskogee would have its bases covered in preventing crime, but it doesn’t.

Muskogee ranked as the second most violent place in Oklahoma, with residents facing a 1 in 101 chance of being the victim of a robbery, rape, assault, or murder in 2024. A lot of that comes from Muskogee having the tenth highest rate of rape cases statewide.

If that doesn’t sound bad enough, consider that Muskogee also averaged one burglary a day over 2024 — truly, nowhere is safe in Muskogee.

Del City, OK

Source: Wikipedia User Dcheagle | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 21,151
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 524 (Tenth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 3,148 (Fifth most dangerous)
Murders: 1
More on Del City: Data

You won’t find Del City anywhere on our list of Oklahoma City’s best suburbs, and crime is a big reason why.

Del City had the tenth highest violent crime rate in Oklahoma. Residents had a staggering 1 in 190 shot of being the victim of a violent attack in 2024.

Add to that 666 property crimes over the year, and you’ve got a recipe for a full plate for the Del City Police Department.

Sallisaw, OK

Source: Wikipedia User John Phelan | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 8,688
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 506 (12th most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 3,153 (Fourth most dangerous)
Murders: 1
More on Sallisaw: Data

Sallisaw, located in Sequoyah County, is the fifth most dangerous place to live in Oklahoma. The city, which has a population of 8,688, has a troubling violent crime rate of 506/100k per capita. This includes 44 incidents of violent crime.

Historically an integral part of the Fort Smith, ArkansasOklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, Sallisaw’s safety issues starkly contrast its rich history and cultural significance.

Oklahoma City, OK

Source: Wikipedia User katsrcool | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 709,456
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 676 (Fifth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,893 (11th most dangerous)
Murders: 73
More on Oklahoma City: Data

Oklahoma City’s crime numbers actually fell a bit over the last year, despite it holding onto a spot on this list. That’s just because other cities in Oklahoma are improving faster than the capital city.

Still, residents have to contend with the fifth highest violent crime rate in Oklahoma. That includes more than one murder each week and more than one rape each day. Not exactly part of the Wild West image Oklahoma City was going for with the National Cowboy and Western Museum.

As for property crime, Oklahoma City recorded more than ten car thefts each day on average, and 20,528 property crimes overall. However, as OKC is the state’s biggest city, there are obviously some rougher areas, but if you stick to Oklahoma City’s best neighborhoods, you should be safe.

Lawton, OK

Source: Wikipedia User Crimsonedge34 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 90,209
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 820 (Fourth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,652 (15th most dangerous)
Murders: 9
More on Lawton: Data

Anadarko, OK

Source: Wikipedia User Mdnicholson42 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 5,449
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 605 (Sixth most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 2,514 (16th most dangerous)
Murders: 0
More on Anadarko: Data

Anadarko got its name by accident. The town was supposed to be named after the Nadaco band of Native Americans. However, somewhere in the process of getting its first post office, someone added an “A” to the front of the word.

Not an auspicious start. But this community in central Oklahoma, about 50 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, has other problems to worry about than the history of its name. It also stands as the number 8 most dangerous spot in the state. The town suffers high rates of larceny and burglary, as well as a scary pace of violent crimes.

Okmulgee, OK

Source: Wikipedia User Caleb Long | CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0

Overall SnackAbility

1
/10

Population: 11,405
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 394 (19th most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 3,217 (Third most dangerous)
Murders: 0
More on Okmulgee: Data

Located about 40 miles south of Tulsa, Okmulgee comes in as Oklahoma’s ninth most dangerous city for 2025. Okmulgee is not the sort of place you can leave your doors unlocked, considering it had the fourth highest burglary rate statewide.

You also have to keep a close eye on your catch after a day fishing on Okmulgee Lake, seeing as Okmulgee recorded a theft each and every day on average.

Okmulgee also had the 57th highest murder rate in Oklahoma, so it’s more than just picked pockets and broken windows going down here.

Warr Acres, OK

Source: Flickr User ProfEdTech | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 10,482
Violent Crimes Per 100k: 381 (21st most dangerous)
Property Crimes Per 100k: 3,463 (Second most dangerous)
Murders: 0
More on Warr Acres: Data

Warr Acres, located in Oklahoma County, has earned the reputation of being one of the most dangerous places to live in the state. With a population of 10,482, this city has experienced a concerning crime rate, making safety a significant concern for its residents.

In terms of violent crime, Warr Acres has recorded 40 incidents, including 0 murder cases, 6 rapes, 6 robberies, and 28 aggravated assaults. Additionally, property crime has been a prevalent issue, with 363 reported cases, including 37 burglaries.

Crime By City In Oklahoma

Rank City Population Total Crimes Per 100K Violent Crimes Per 100K Property Crimes Per 100K Murders
1 Tulsa 411,310 4,569 941 3,627 39
2 Ardmore 24,886 4,247 1,141 3,106 2
3 Muskogee 36,898 3,935 986 2,948 4
4 Del City 21,151 3,673 524 3,148 1
5 Sallisaw 8,688 3,660 506 3,153 1
6 Oklahoma City 709,456 3,569 676 2,893 73
7 Lawton 90,209 3,473 820 2,652 9
8 Anadarko 5,449 3,119 605 2,514 0
9 Okmulgee 11,405 3,612 394 3,217 0
10 Warr Acres 10,482 3,844 381 3,463 0
11 Miami 12,836 3,381 514 2,866 1
12 Ponca City 24,286 3,079 576 2,503 2
13 Shawnee 31,966 3,344 500 2,843 1
14 Enid 50,382 2,921 537 2,383 0
15 Grove 7,409 3,333 296 3,036 0
16 Poteau 9,161 3,231 294 2,936 0
17 Pryor Creek 9,697 2,681 433 2,248 3
18 McAlester 18,134 2,740 369 2,371 1
19 Wagoner 8,630 2,676 428 2,247 0
20 Durant 20,850 3,376 268 3,107 1
21 Blackwell 6,073 2,585 444 2,140 1
22 Kingfisher 5,102 2,214 548 1,666 0
23 Ada 16,655 2,395 468 1,927 1
24 Seminole 7,308 2,531 369 2,162 0
25 Cushing 8,416 2,673 273 2,400 0
26 Bartlesville 38,361 2,492 367 2,124 1
27 Sand Springs 20,133 3,005 243 2,761 1
28 Duncan 23,345 2,424 351 2,073 0
29 Midwest City 57,961 2,427 346 2,080 4
30 Hugo 5,200 2,480 269 2,211 0
31 Norman 130,681 2,526 260 2,266 1
32 Clinton 8,345 1,941 455 1,485 1
33 Pauls Valley 6,059 2,541 247 2,294 0
34 Chickasha 16,979 2,161 312 1,849 1
35 The Village 9,302 2,461 258 2,203 0
36 Claremore 20,645 1,913 290 1,622 0
37 Tahlequah 17,037 2,476 181 2,295 0
38 Purcell 6,938 2,306 245 2,061 1
39 Tecumseh 6,344 2,001 252 1,749 2
40 Holdenville 5,917 1,791 270 1,521 0
41 Henryetta 5,604 1,498 392 1,106 2
42 Altus 18,613 1,735 290 1,445 2
43 Woodward 11,641 1,700 283 1,417 2
44 Skiatook 8,861 1,421 293 1,128 1
45 Catoosa 7,544 1,749 212 1,537 0
46 Bethany 20,221 1,740 207 1,533 0
47 Idabel 6,966 2,282 157 2,124 1
48 Vinita 5,349 2,075 168 1,906 0
49 Stillwater 49,910 1,733 182 1,550 0
50 Moore 63,609 1,702 190 1,512 1

Methodology: How we determined the most dangerous cities in Oklahoma for 2025?

Every year the FBI release two crime datasets on cities in Oklahoma. First a preliminary dataset limited to the biggest cities in Oklahoma, followed by a more detailed release at the end of the year.

For our analysis, we focused on the 2024 data, specifically the 2024 Crime In The United States Report for Oklahoma.

So what criteria did we use? Have a look:

  • Violent Crimes Per Capita
  • Property Crimes Per Capita

In order to make the analysis as apples to apples as possible, we only considered Oklahoma cities over 5,000 in population. That left us with 75 cities in Oklahoma.

We then ranked each city from 1 to 75 for the two criteria with a #1 ranking being the most dangerous for the particular criteria.

Next, we averaged the two rankings into one “Dangerous Index”.

Finally, we ranked every city on the “Dangerous Index” with the lowest index being the most dangerous in Oklahoma — Tulsa. Any ties went to the smaller city.

This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. It is our tenth time ranking the most dangerous places to live in Oklahoma and is updated for 2025.

Most Dangerous Places To Live In Oklahoma FAQs

Yes, Oklahoma is a dangerous state as it ranks as the #8 most dangerous state in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. The violent crime rate in Oklahoma ranks 13th most dangerous in the United States — 24.01% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the Sooner State ranks sixth most dangerous in the United States — 38.44% worse than US average property crime rate. The latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022.

Yes, Oklahoma City is a dangerous city. Oklahoma City ranks as the #114 most dangerous out of 328 major cities over 100,000 people in the United States based on our analysis of the latest FBI Crime Data. Keep in mind that are always safe and dangerous parts of any city, so even though Oklahoma City might be considered dangerous you still need to be aware of where you are.

Compared to other big cities, the violent crime rate in Oklahoma City ranks 103rd highest in America — 16.0% worse than US average violent crime rate. The property crime rate in the ranks 107th highest in the United States — 12.1% worse than US average property crime rate. Note the latest reporting year from the FBI was 2022 and that no city in America is ‘dangerous’. Despite the uptick in murders, it’s nothing like you’d see in Tijuana or Caracas where the murder rate is 2x any American city.

Graphing The Most Dangerous And Safest Places In Oklahoma

Most Dangerous Cities In Oklahoma Graph

Click To Enlarge

Summary: Locking It All Up In Oklahoma

So what is the most dangerous city in Oklahoma? After analyzing 75 cities in Oklahoma, Tulsa takes the top spot as the most dangerous city in Oklahoma based on the most recently reported FBI data — 2024.

The latest FBI crime data shows that Tulsa ranks as the most dangerous city in Oklahoma for 2025.

The most dangerous cities in Oklahoma are .

We want to point out again that there’s still safes places in Tulsa and that this isn’t a comment on the people that live there. So please don’t beat us up.

What is the most dangerous place in Oklahoma for 2025? The most dangerous city in Oklahoma is Tulsa.

There’s a direct correlation between places in Oklahoma with high unemployment rates and poverty with high crime.

If you want to know where the most dangerous places in Oklahoma are, look at the report below.

Learn more about the safest places in Oklahoma.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the most dangerous cities in America or the most dangerous states in America.

Here are the safest cities in Oklahoma:

  1. Bixby (Pop. 31,380)
  2. Newcastle (Pop. 15,096)
  3. Coweta (Pop. 11,170)
  4. Mustang (Pop. 24,424)
  5. Blanchard (Pop. 9,919)
  6. Collinsville (Pop. 9,763)
  7. Tuttle (Pop. 8,714)
  8. Verdigris (Pop. 5,879)
  9. Weatherford (Pop. 12,009)
  10. Piedmont (Pop. 9,293)

For more Oklahoma reading, check out:

References

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

7 thoughts on “The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Oklahoma

  1. Tulsa OK is a dump. It’s a paradise for rednecks, thugs, and yuppies. Alot of people are rude, mean, and on drugs. Road rage is horrible here, crime never seems to stop and the verbal bullets keep flying. Poverty in West and north sides keeps getting worse. the homicide rate is horrible, together with violent crime. It’s a real winner. By far the worst city I’ve ever lived in.

  2. I have been a Tulsan since 1975. I worked for the City of Tulsa for several years. Tulsa used to be the most beautiful city you have ever seen. Then the Democrats came into power and got us into so much debt and the infrastructure began to fall apart. The City was then inundated with illegal aliens from the southern border to where some schools are totally Spanish speaking in Tulsa, OK! In Tulsa there is a great divide between the haves and the have nots. In Tulsa there is the great religious community and the great crime community. Tulsa has evolved from a small beautiful city that had everything to a crime ridden big city that is quite ugly. It is a hard hard city. As for the people of Tulsa, they are indeed very rude, very unfriendly, very mean and road rage is insane here because people cannot drive. I look forward to being able to move out of Tulsa at retirement.

  3. What a load of crap!

    If you take the time to follow the links all the way through to figure out where this loser came up with this BS, you find that “The 10 Most Dangerous Cities” in Oklahoma are at the bottom of a 74 city list of “The Safest Cities in Oklahoma.”

    That’s right, Shawnee is the 74th safest city in Oklahoma. (OKC was 65th) If you consider there are 600 towns and cities in Oklahoma, that’s not as bad as this moron tries to make it sound. (Safest 12% if you *assume* all cities were evaluated equally)

    Look, this statistical moron doesn’t understand that you can’t take a short list of “Safest Cities” and flip it on its head to determine the most “Dangerous Cities”. That’s a completely different methodology for ranking.

    This is precisely where the FAKE NEWS peddlers earn their scorn. They’re TOO LAZY and TOO STUPID to fathom just how ridiculous they are!

    Chris Kolmar you are a half wit plagiarist and I hope I never step in another pile of your product. I don’t want to become dumber by simply reading the pap you don’t have the intelligence to understand or evaluate.

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