Best PlacesOklahoma County, OK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Oklahoma County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Oklahoma County ranks 1,185th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on cell coverage and transit. The weaker spots are civic engagement, air quality, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma County
The parts of Oklahoma 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.
Jones, Luther & Arcadia
Incomes run higher, more adults hold degrees, and local pay stretches further.
Oklahoma City
Crime runs lower and more residents vote.
Edmond
Schools score higher, though homes cost more.
Midwest City, Del City & Choctaw
Transit reaches fewer jobs.
Bethany & Warr Acres
Health care is harder to reach and more homes sit empty.
Spencer & Nicoma Park
Health outcomes score lower and prices have run up more.
Oklahoma County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Oklahoma County's strengths and weaknesses
Oklahoma County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Cell coverage is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Transit and biking follow.
The one real hole is civic engagement, near the bottom of the country. Air quality and state infrastructure also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Oklahoma County ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of counties
- TransitBetter than 95% of counties
- BikingBetter than 92% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 89% of counties
Where Oklahoma County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 10% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Oklahoma County
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Oklahoma County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,475, 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 Oklahoma County's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 Oklahoma County
Oklahoma County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Oklahoma County.
Who works in Oklahoma County, and how
Work in Oklahoma County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Oklahoma County
Oklahoma County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of counties and more parkland per resident than 80% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Oklahoma County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Oklahoma County growing, and who is moving in?
Oklahoma County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Oklahoma City, OK metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Oklahoma County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Oklahoma County, month by month
Oklahoma County sees roughly 101 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 39° | 29° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 95° | 84° | 74° |
| October | 77° | 64° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Oklahoma County
The nearest airport, Okc Will Rogers International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 184 miles away.
The best schools in and around Oklahoma County
Schools across Oklahoma County average a D+, better than 13% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Clegern EsA+ · 75% proficient
- Oakdale Public SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Chisholm EsA · 64% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bethany MsB+ · 50% proficient
- Deer Creek MsB · 47% proficient
- Classen Ms Of Advanced StudiesB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- North HsB+ · 54% proficient
- Memorial HsB · 48% proficient
- Classen Hs Of Advanced StudiesB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Oklahoma County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Oklahoma County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Oklahoma County
Is Oklahoma County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Oklahoma County ranks 1,185th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cell coverage, transit, and biking, and lowest on civic engagement and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Oklahoma County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $239,632. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $79,475 median income, cost of living beats 89% of counties.
Is Oklahoma County safe?
Oklahoma County is safer than 28% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $583 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Oklahoma County?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 29. That works out to about 101 pleasant days a year, more than 61% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Oklahoma County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Jones, Luther & Arcadia, Oklahoma City, and Edmond. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Oklahoma County good for families?
Schools beat 13% of counties, crime safety beats 28%, and childcare runs $946 a month.
Is Oklahoma County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 91% of counties. About 11% of workers already work from home.
Compare Oklahoma County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Oklahoma County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Oklahoma 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.
Oklahoma County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Oklahoma County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Oklahoma County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Oklahoma County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Oklahoma County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Oklahoma 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.