Like all states, Oklahoma has certain places that are going on hard times. These Oklahoma places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Oklahoma.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 75 cities in Oklahoma with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Oklahoma For 2025:
What’s the poorest city in Oklahoma? According to the facts, Hugo is the poorest place in Oklahoma for 2025.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Oklahoma reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Oklahoma
- Cheapest Places To Live In Oklahoma
- Most Dangerous Cities In Oklahoma
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Oklahoma For 2025
1. Hugo
/10
Population: 5,184
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $31,694 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 32.0% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 1,660
More on Hugo: Data
Hugo, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Oklahoma thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 5,184 people averages the lowest median household income in Oklahoma and the 2nd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Seminole
/10
Population: 7,161
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $37,267 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 30.1% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,155
More on Seminole: Data
The second poorest city in Oklahoma is Seminole.
The city ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 7th highest in the Sooner State.
3. Idabel
/10
Population: 6,959
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $36,638 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 29.8% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,071
More on Idabel: Data
Placing as the third poorest city, Idabel’s median income ranks as the 2nd lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 29.77% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Sooner State.
4. Sayre
/10
Population: 5,216
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 6)
Median Income: $41,813 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 35.0% (highest)
People In Poverty: 1,824
More on Sayre:
Sayre ranks as the fourth poorest place in Oklahoma.
The town ranks as having the 8th lowest median household income and the highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Stillwater
/10
Population: 48,818
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $42,015 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 29.4% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 14,372
More on Stillwater: Data
The fifth poorest city in Oklahoma is Stillwater.
The city ranks as having the 9th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 6th highest in Oklahoma.
Still not the best news for Stillwater.
6. Holdenville
/10
Population: 5,916
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 3)
Median Income: $41,413 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 26.0% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,535
More on Holdenville: Data
Holdenville ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Sooner State.
It ranks as having the 10th highest incidence of poverty and the 8th highest unemployment rate.
7. Vinita
/10
Population: 5,229
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $41,140 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.8% (12th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,297
More on Vinita: Data
Vinita places as the seventh poorest city in Oklahoma.
The city of over 5,229 ranks as having the 12th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Okmulgee
/10
Population: 11,370
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $39,060 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 23.1% (14th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,620
More on Okmulgee: Data
Okmulgee ranks as the eighth poorest city in Oklahoma.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Anadarko
/10
Population: 5,627
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 8)
Median Income: $43,668 (11th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 27.5% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,547
More on Anadarko: Data
Anadarko couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Oklahoma; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 11th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Anadarko ranks as having the 8th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Oklahoma.
10. Henryetta
/10
Population: 5,631
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 4)
Median Income: $44,541 (13th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 27.9% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,570
More on Henryetta: Data
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Oklahoma is Henryetta.
The city of 5,631 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Sooner State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Oklahoma for 2025
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2019-2023 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 75 places with more than 5,000 people in Oklahoma, we ranked each place from 1 to 75 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Hugo, crowned the “Poorest Place In Oklahoma For 2025”.
This report has been updated for 2025, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Oklahoma.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Oklahoma For 2025
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Oklahoma, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Oklahoma.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Oklahoma, according to data:
-
Richest: Newcastle
2nd Richest: Bixby
3rd Richest: Tuttle
For more Oklahoma reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Oklahoma
- Safest Places In Oklahoma
- Worst Places To Live In Oklahoma
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Oklahoma
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Oklahoma
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hugo | 5,184 | 32.0% | $31,694 | 1,660 |
| 2 | Seminole | 7,161 | 30.1% | $37,267 | 2,155 |
| 3 | Idabel | 6,959 | 29.8% | $36,638 | 2,071 |
| 4 | Sayre | 5,216 | 35.0% | $41,813 | 1,824 |
| 5 | Stillwater | 48,818 | 29.4% | $42,015 | 14,372 |
| 6 | Holdenville | 5,916 | 26.0% | $41,413 | 1,535 |
| 7 | Vinita | 5,229 | 24.8% | $41,140 | 1,297 |
| 8 | Okmulgee | 11,370 | 23.1% | $39,060 | 2,620 |
| 9 | Anadarko | 5,627 | 27.5% | $43,668 | 1,547 |
| 10 | Henryetta | 5,631 | 27.9% | $44,541 | 1,570 |
| 11 | Sallisaw | 8,553 | 31.1% | $47,333 | 2,655 |
| 12 | Cushing | 8,336 | 24.7% | $44,282 | 2,060 |
| 13 | Alva | 5,009 | 22.7% | $41,728 | 1,135 |
| 14 | Pryor Creek | 9,520 | 22.7% | $42,500 | 2,161 |
| 15 | Miami | 12,960 | 22.8% | $45,900 | 2,952 |
| 16 | Muskogee | 36,819 | 24.9% | $48,735 | 9,175 |
| 17 | Elk City | 11,406 | 26.8% | $49,500 | 3,057 |
| 18 | Pauls Valley | 6,031 | 23.0% | $47,681 | 1,385 |
| 19 | McAlester | 18,098 | 22.2% | $48,044 | 4,019 |
| 20 | Durant | 19,209 | 20.4% | $44,753 | 3,912 |
| 21 | Weatherford | 12,014 | 21.8% | $50,250 | 2,622 |
| 22 | Tecumseh | 6,320 | 19.4% | $46,352 | 1,227 |
| 23 | Del City | 21,561 | 20.7% | $48,895 | 4,467 |
| 24 | Tahlequah | 16,513 | 20.3% | $48,515 | 3,352 |
| 25 | El Reno | 17,919 | 21.4% | $54,459 | 3,834 |
| 26 | Guthrie | 11,021 | 21.6% | $54,640 | 2,379 |
| 27 | Poteau | 8,903 | 20.3% | $49,789 | 1,809 |
| 28 | Lawton | 90,662 | 20.9% | $53,588 | 18,903 |
| 29 | Shawnee | 31,511 | 20.5% | $54,281 | 6,453 |
| 30 | Blackwell | 6,091 | 17.2% | $50,104 | 1,050 |
| 31 | Guymon | 12,596 | 21.3% | $57,051 | 2,680 |
| 32 | Duncan | 22,872 | 20.4% | $57,020 | 4,670 |
| 33 | Chickasha | 16,349 | 18.9% | $55,039 | 3,094 |
| 34 | Ardmore | 24,757 | 16.7% | $52,954 | 4,144 |
| 35 | Bethany | 20,606 | 18.9% | $55,063 | 3,898 |
| 36 | Ada | 16,536 | 16.1% | $51,792 | 2,655 |
| 37 | Altus | 18,670 | 17.3% | $55,550 | 3,235 |
| 38 | Ponca City | 24,377 | 16.7% | $55,270 | 4,070 |
| 39 | Tulsa | 412,322 | 18.6% | $58,407 | 76,856 |
| 40 | Grove | 7,101 | 14.8% | $56,875 | 1,054 |
| 41 | Midwest City | 58,170 | 15.3% | $57,739 | 8,917 |
| 42 | Bartlesville | 37,559 | 15.4% | $59,457 | 5,802 |
| 43 | Norman | 128,714 | 17.0% | $65,060 | 21,868 |
| 44 | Clinton | 8,461 | 14.4% | $58,417 | 1,215 |
| 45 | Wagoner | 7,934 | 13.3% | $58,206 | 1,055 |
| 46 | Warr Acres | 10,437 | 15.0% | $60,822 | 1,563 |
| 47 | Claremore | 19,921 | 12.8% | $57,120 | 2,553 |
| 48 | Oklahoma City | 688,693 | 15.2% | $66,702 | 104,336 |
| 49 | Sapulpa | 22,268 | 14.3% | $61,644 | 3,193 |
| 50 | Enid | 50,821 | 14.1% | $63,472 | 7,170 |
| 51 | Woodward | 11,976 | 12.9% | $60,720 | 1,546 |
| 52 | Catoosa | 7,631 | 14.5% | $70,875 | 1,104 |
| 53 | Coweta | 10,157 | 12.1% | $60,000 | 1,223 |
| 54 | Purcell | 6,716 | 11.4% | $60,529 | 764 |
| 55 | The Village | 9,470 | 12.9% | $70,788 | 1,219 |
| 56 | Harrah | 6,377 | 14.0% | $75,000 | 894 |
| 57 | Lone Grove | 5,070 | 12.4% | $71,787 | 627 |
| 58 | Sand Springs | 19,973 | 10.4% | $73,400 | 2,071 |
| 59 | Moore | 63,045 | 10.6% | $76,941 | 6,701 |
| 60 | Glenpool | 13,885 | 10.2% | $76,726 | 1,414 |
| 61 | Yukon | 24,802 | 9.9% | $76,408 | 2,455 |
| 62 | Collinsville | 8,468 | 10.9% | $88,537 | 920 |
| 63 | Broken Arrow | 115,919 | 9.0% | $85,220 | 10,421 |
| 64 | Noble | 7,337 | 8.8% | $85,452 | 641 |
| 65 | Owasso | 39,013 | 6.7% | $79,386 | 2,606 |
| 66 | Mustang | 21,290 | 7.2% | $88,262 | 1,522 |
| 67 | Verdigris | 5,502 | 6.4% | $81,406 | 351 |
| 68 | Blanchard | 9,276 | 6.7% | $89,472 | 621 |
| 69 | Edmond | 95,618 | 8.3% | $102,032 | 7,955 |
| 70 | Choctaw | 12,208 | 6.7% | $96,446 | 811 |
| 71 | Piedmont | 7,978 | 2.5% | $94,882 | 197 |
| 72 | Jenks | 26,519 | 6.6% | $104,970 | 1,750 |
| 73 | Tuttle | 7,785 | 6.4% | $102,417 | 499 |
| 74 | Bixby | 29,402 | 5.7% | $99,602 | 1,681 |
| 75 | Newcastle | 12,238 | 3.6% | $97,315 | 435 |