Even though Oklahoma is known for its varied landscapes, rich cultural history, and friendly people, there are still some places in the state that aren’t good for living. These places have problems like high crime rates, low wages, bad school options, and many other problems that make people not want to live or visit there. Because of a careful analysis of many factors and statistics, this piece goes into detail about the Oklahoma city that has the dubious honor of being the worst place to live.
What it Requires
To find the Oklahoma city that is the worst place to live, we carefully used the following criteria:
- Violent Crime Rate: This shows how many violent crimes (like murder, rape, robbery, and attack) happen for every 100,000 people.
- The property crime rate shows how many property crimes, like burglary, theft, and car theft, happen for every 100,000 people.
- Unemployment Rate: This number shows what percentage of people who are looking for work don’t have jobs.
- Poverty Rate: This number shows what percentage of people live below the poverty line.
- Median Home Value: This shows the average value of homes that are owned by their owners.
- Average Household Income: This shows how much money most families in the city make on average.
The most up-to-date information we could get from the FBI, the U.S. Census Bureau, and other trustworthy sources was used for our statistics. Based on these factors, we gave each place a score from 0 to 100, with 100 being the worst. The questionable title of Oklahoma’s worst place to live in goes to the city that got the lowest score.
The Worst Town
Idabel has been named the worst city in Oklahoma for 2023. The city of Idabel is in the southeast, close to the borders of Texas and Arkansas. It has a population of 6,879 people and a score of 89.5 out of 100. Idabel has the dubious title of being the worst place to live in Oklahoma for a number of reasons:
- With 1,301 violent crimes per 100,000 people, Idabel has the shameful honor of having the highest violent crime rate in the state. In Idabel, this means that you are incredibly unlikely to be a victim of a violent crime—1 in 77. This is a lot higher than the state average of 1,106 crimes per 100,000 people.
- With 8,795 property crimes per 100,000 people, the city also has the highest rate of property crime in the state. This sad number means that there is a 1 in 11 chance of being a victim of property crime in Idabel, which is a lot higher than the state average of 4,977 crimes per 100,000 people.
- To make things even worse, Idabel has the second-highest jobless rate in the state, with 9.9% of its work force out of work. The normal rate in the state is 5.4%, so this rate is a lot higher.
- The city has the third-highest poverty rate in the state, with 35.7% of its people living below the poverty line. This is very different from the state average of 15.6%.
- The average house value in the state is $147,800, so Idabel has the lowest median home value in the state, with homes worth only $54,800.
- The city also has the fourth-lowest median family income in the state, with an average of only $30,833. This is much lower than the state average of $54,449, which makes things even worse.
Conclusion
Based on the strict standards we used, Idabel is now the worst city in Oklahoma to live in. Alarmingly high crime rates, low incomes, falling property values, and high rates of poverty and unemployment plague this city. There may be some good things about living in Idabel, like being close to nature and having a lot of different cultures, but the problems make these good things less noticeable. Because of this, we can’t honestly suggest that you live in or visit Idabel unless there is a really strong reason to do so.