These are the safest suburbs in Oklahoma, study says

Addy Bink
·4 min read
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(NEXSTAR) — If you’re looking to move to, there may be a number of aspects you’re considering — what are the nearest schools like, is it a walkable area, how close is it to your job are all relatively common questions.

You’re also likely wondering how safe the area is. As you may expect, there are a number of things that can impact the perceived safety of the suburb.

SmartAsset, a personal finance website, reviewed 370 suburbs across the 100 largest cities in the U.S. and analyzed them based on multiple safety-related metrics: violent crime rates and property crime rates based on FBI data as well as rates of adults engaging in excessive drinking and deaths related to traffic accidents and drug poisonings from County Health Rankings.

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Overall, SmartAsset found suburbs on the East Coast and in the Midwest were among the safest. Suburbs in the West and South ranked further down on the list.

Fifteen Oklahoma suburbs also made the list.

The highest ranking was Jenks, located about 10 miles south of Tulsa. It came in 72nd overall on SmartAsset’s list, partially due to its relatively high rate of property crime: 1,310 per 100,000 residents.

Jenks also had some of the fewest drinkers. Oklahoma and Utah reported the lowest percentage of heavy drinkers overall, with Oklahoma’s Okmulgee, Jenks, Owasso, Glenpool, and Shawnee reported among the least.

The second-highest ranking Oklahoma suburb was El Reno, found almost 30 miles west of Oklahoma City.

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Below are the other Oklahoma suburbs that made SmartAsset’s list, as well as their overall rank:

  • El Reno (#99)

  • Edmond (#100, tied with Waukesha, Wisconsin)

  • Broken Arrow and Owasso (tied for #102)

  • Moore (#122)

  • Catoosa (#180, tied with Kapolei, Hawaii)

  • Norman (#189)

  • Purcell (#195, tied with Clayton, North Carolina)

  • Claremore (#204)

  • Glenpool (#205)

  • Okmulgee (#245)

  • Sapulpa (#284)

  • Shawnee (#309, tied with Scottsburg, Indiana)

  • Chickasha (#316)

Of these suburbs, Jenks had the lowest violent crime rate at 112 per 100,000 residents. Chickasha, about 40 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, had the highest at 479 per 100,000 residents.

Another OKC-area suburb, Shawnee, edged out Chickasha for the highest property crime rate in Oklahoma at 3,657 per 100,000 residents. Jenks again had the lowest rate among suburbs in the state at 1,310 per 100,000.

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Moore and Norman, neighboring OKC suburbs, tied for vehicular mortality rates at 10.6 per 100,000. Three other suburbs – Jenks, Owasso, and Glenpool – tied at 12.1. Purcell, found 35 miles south of OKC, had the highest rate at 22.2 per 100,000. It was followed closely by Chickasha at 22.1.

Catoosa and Claremore, Tulsa-area suburbs, had the lowest drug poisoning mortality rates among Oklahoma suburbs at 10.1 per 100,000. Purcell was close behind at 11.5. Chickasha had the highest rate at 22.1, followed by Sapulpa at 21.

Nationally, Great Falls, Virginia, a Washington D.C. suburb located along the Potomac River ranked highest on SmartAsset’s list. The census-designated location had the second-lowest violent crime rate at 6.81 per 100,000 residents (coming in behind Edgerton, Wisconsin, with a crime rate of 0) and one of the lowest vehicle mortality rates.

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Fort Bliss, Texas had the lowest overall property crime rate (218 per 100,000 residents). Lexington and Somerville Massachusetts tied for the fewest vehicular deaths at 3.6 per 100,000 while Waukee, Iowa had the lowest rate of deaths due to drug poisonings at 6.1 per 100,000.

Not every suburb had such low rates, of course.

Gonzales, Louisiana had the worst overall safety rating. The Baton Rouge suburb had the second-worst property crime rate at 7,466 per 100,000 residents.

Florida had the most suburbs ranking among the bottom of SmartAsset’s list, including DeLand, which ranked as the second-worst overall behind Gonzales.

SmartAsset’s full list and methodology can be found here.

Crime data recently released by the FBI paints a more complicated picture in Oklahoma. While the violent crime rate dropped between 2021 and 2022, the Sooner State has a higher crime rate per capita than the national average.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.