Since 2010, the Sooner State has rallied to decrease its rate of violent crime. This year, Oklahoma sits at number thirty-seven in the nation for violent crime, which puts it slightly above the national average. And thanks to initiatives like the Safe Oklahoma Grant Program, the state is making steady progress. This program provides funds to law enforcement agencies to help them reduce violent crime by expanding crime prevention tech support, providing victim services, improving community outreach, increasing analytical capacity, and implementing evidence-based law enforcement practices.
The twenty cities we’ve honored this year as the safest in Oklahoma are reaping the benefits of proactive law enforcement strategies like those the grant supports. In fact, our number-one city, Elgin, claims that top spot for the second consecutive time—which isn’t surprising for a city that had zero incidents of violent crime two years in a row.
Elgin may lead the way, but the rest of Oklahoma’s safest cities aren’t far behind. According to current FBI crime data, 90% of these surveyed municipalities reported fewer than ten total violent crimes. There were only three murders reported among all twenty cities. More than 50% had zero counts of both murder and rape, and 80% reported fewer than seven incidents of aggravated assault.
Every city on our list beats both the state and national averages for violent crime and property crime. Nineteen of the cities on our list reported fewer than ninety-five total property crimes, with counts of arson being the least reported of all property crimes. Only four of our safest cities reported any counts of arson. Motor vehicle thefts were also fairly rare, with seven cities reporting no incidents and 95% experiencing fewer than ten.
Review the entire list to find out if your city nabbed a spot as one of the safest in the state, and then check out our Oklahoma Safety Directory. This comprehensive guide has local crime prevention and safety resources to help you make your home and city as safe as possible.
How We Chose the Safest Cities in Oklahoma
To identify the 20 safest cities in Oklahoma, we reviewed the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2015, along with population data. We eliminated all cities with fewer than 2,000 residents as well as any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI.
From there, we evaluated the remaining cities. We narrowed it down based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in each city. To further level the playing field, we calculated the likelihood of these crimes occurring out of 1,000 people in each city.
Learn more about how we rank our Safest Cities reports.
1. Elgin ↔
Previous rank: 1
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
2. Hooker ↑
Previous rank: 14
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.00
Property Crimes per 1,000: 1.46
3. Walters ↑
Previous rank: 7
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.39
Property Crimes per 1,000: 1.56
4. Piedmont ↑
Previous rank: 10
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.29
Property Crimes per 1,000: 5.00
5. Wynnewood ↑
Previous rank: 19
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.36
Property Crimes per 1,000: 5.42
6. Newkirk ↑
Previous rank: 29
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.33
Property Crimes per 1,000: 6.66
7. Heavener ↑
Previous rank: 54
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.19
Property Crimes per 1,000: 8.65
8. Sayre ↑
Previous rank: 20
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.03
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.70
9. Vinita ↑
Previous rank: Not Ranked
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.27
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.63
10. Owasso ↑
Previous rank: 35
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.03
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.05
11. Hinton ↓
Previous rank: 3
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.31
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.85
12. Watonga ↑
Previous rank: 58
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.32
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.87
13. Cleveland ↑
Previous rank: Not Ranked
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 2.19
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.06
14. Healdton ↑
Previous rank: 26
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.79
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.67
15. Mangum ↑
Previous rank: 17
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.02
Property Crimes per 1,000: 10.51
16. Coweta ↓
Previous rank: 15
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.68
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.86
17. Cordell ↑
Previous rank: 37
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.35
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.78
18. Wilburton ↓
Previous rank: 16
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 2.95
Property Crimes per 1,000: 9.60
19. Hennessey ↓
Previous rank: 13
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 0.45
Property Crimes per 1,000: 12.22
20. Fort Gibson ↑
Previous rank: 28
Violent Crimes per 1,000: 1.71
Property Crimes per 1,000: 11.49
How safe is your home?
Wherever you live, feeling safe in your home can bring greater peace of mind and happiness. Whether your city made our list or not, we recommend adding extra security to your home with monitored security services provided by the nation’s leading home security providers.
To learn more about the home security options available to you, check out SafeWise’s picks for Best Home Security Systems of 2018 or select the city nearest you in the drop down menu below.
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