Best PlacesMcCurtain County, OK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McCurtain County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
McCurtain County ranks 2,764th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McCurtain County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in McCurtain County
The parts of McCurtain County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Valliant
Prices have run up less and crime runs lower.
Broken Bow
Tree cover is thicker, though fewer households have young kids.
Idabel
Commutes are shorter, though it is noisier.
Scores across McCurtain County run from about the 4th to the 46th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
McCurtain County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McCurtain County ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 93% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 84% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 75% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 74% of counties
Where McCurtain County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of counties
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McCurtain County
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McCurtain County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,412, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses McCurtain County's effective rate of 0.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McCurtain County
McCurtain County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for McCurtain County.
Who works in McCurtain County, and how
Work in McCurtain County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in McCurtain County
McCurtain County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of McCurtain County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McCurtain County growing, and who is moving in?
McCurtain County has lost about 7% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Texarkana, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McCurtain County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McCurtain County, month by month
McCurtain County sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 42° | 33° |
| April | 74° | 62° | 52° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 72° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 54° |
Flying in and out of McCurtain County
The nearest airport, Texarkana Regional-Webb Field, is about 60 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas Love Field, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around McCurtain County
Schools across McCurtain County average a D, better than 8% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Holly Creek Public SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Lukfata Public SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Battiest EsC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wright City JhsD+ · 27% proficient
- Smithville MsD+ · 24% proficient
- Idabel MsD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Battiest HsC− · 27% proficient
- Eagletown HsD+ · 25% proficient
- Smithville HsD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McCurtain County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McCurtain County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare McCurtain County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who McCurtain County suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in McCurtain County
Is McCurtain County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McCurtain County ranks 2,764th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low property taxes, state finances, and tree cover, and lowest on civic engagement and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McCurtain County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $150,349. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $53,412 median income, cost of living beats 6% of counties.
Is McCurtain County safe?
McCurtain County is safer than 28% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $519 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McCurtain County?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 33. That works out to about 89 pleasant days a year, more than 51% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in McCurtain County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Valliant, Broken Bow, and Idabel. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare McCurtain County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McCurtain County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McCurtain County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
McCurtain County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McCurtain County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McCurtain County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McCurtain County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McCurtain County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McCurtain County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.