The 10 Worst Places to Live in Oklahoma

Ardmore has the highest crime rate in Oklahoma. You literally have a 1 in 14 chance of being robbed. Always lock the car, and keep that wallet on a chain like it's 1994... (FYI - Chain wallets still rule!)

Skiatook, Oklahoma may not sound very familiar to you. That's ok, it's understandable. It's a quaint little dot on the map Northwest of Tulsa. Just about the only notable thing I can think of it Skiatook Lake. It's beautiful when it has water in it, and the fishing isn't bad either.

It earned it's place on this list due to the high crime rate (1 in 44) along with it's high unemployment, and low education rates.

According to RoadSnacks.net, Miami (pronounced My-Am-Uh for whatever reason) is a well balanced town of overall low rankings. I'm fairly sure they've rated this town along the lines of popular opinion. While 'news' swings numbers like this all the time, there's really no hard data to back it up.

Out in the middle of nowhere, you'll eventually see a road sign that points to Poteau. It's a very small town out in Eastern Oklahoma. Like Miami, Poteau earned it's spot on this list due to both their average income, and the unemployment rate. (3rd highest unemployment rate in OK)

That being said, it's a cool place to drive through. Mainly because you have to drive through Panama, Oklahoma... Which is cool, just to be able to tell people you've driven through Panama. Unless of course they ask 'Panama Mexico?', at which point it's ok to slap someone.

Yet another 'Worst Town' located near Tulsa. I think there's a pattern here...

I will say this, Bristow is one of the most affordable places in the state to buy a home. The average price is just North of $60k... but that's only because nobody wants to live there. Couple that with the 1 in 22 chance you'll end up the victim of a crime, and you can see the big picture. (I'm pretty sure it's Tulsa's fault)

Oddly enough, a college town has made the list. (OSU-Tech) Which doesn't seem strange, but it should. College towns normally thrive, driven by the swelling populations throughout the year. Knowing that, Okmulgee is still slandered with the highest unemployment rate in the state, 6.7%.

I'm guessing this is due to the many students who 'College' full-time, but I've been known to be horribly wrong.

On a side note, 6.7% unemployment is well below the national average, proving that Okies are some hard working people. Be proud of that.

Even though Muskogee is a decently sized town, 40k-ish, it ended up on the list. Some attribute this the high crime rate (1 in 22) or the low standards of living... but I'm more inclined to believe Merle Haggard, and just assume Muskogee is a boring place.

Just a stones throw from Idabel, you'll find this little town. Like most small Oklahoma towns, it has character and charm, but it also suffers from financial issues. Does that make it less charming? No.

But the facts don't lie. You have a 1 in 19 chance of being robbed just setting foot in this town. And the statistics lean on some pretty petty thievery. Cell phones, lawn mowers, etc... It's an underground market that's driven by a population living well below the poverty line.

Just next door to Broken Bow, you'll land in Idabel. Another small town on this top 10 list. It's almost like RoadSnacks.net is picking on rural Oklahoma here... but I digress.

Idabel, like most small rural towns, suffers from the average issues like crime, unemployment, and low standards of living. Not exactly beyond poverty, but straddling the line.

It's the hometown of Stoney Larue, one of the most talented Okies in the TX Music scene... But even he fell from grace recently with some wild domestic abuse charges.

It's pretty rare to meet people from this dot on the map. In fact, it's rare to meet people who have traveled through this little town. It's the type of place where the directions are 'If you think you've gone too far, keep going.' That's no joke. That's a direct quote from a friend who briefly lived there.

That's not why it's been nominated as 'Worst Place to Live in Oklahoma' though... It's really just a numbers game. There is unemployment, low pay, high crime, lots of vacant housing... The data just piles the negative on Seminole like nobodies business.

There used to be good work in Seminole. Wrangler had a big plant there, cranking out the nut-huggers like they were going out of style... only they did, in fact, go out of style. The markets changed, companies had to change with it. Believe me, if Wrangler still made jeans in Seminole (and Ada for that matter) we'd see some different towns on this list.