Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,213, settled in 1879.
Beaver’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and civic life; its weakest is a D for incomes. Beaver’s violent crime rate is 8 per 1,000 residents, above both Oklahoma’s towns (2.7) and U.S. towns (1.6). Only 19 of Oklahoma’s 229 towns score lower on hazard risk. Beaver is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 73% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 19 of Oklahoma’s 205 towns do better. Beaver has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Presbyterian Church and Beaver County Courthouse. Beaver has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Beaver beats most towns.
1,515 counted in 2010 and 1,280 in 2020; an estimated 1,213 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Beaver is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 112 in 1900, a peak of 2,087 in 1960, 1,280 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1935 and 2 maps from 1973 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beaver, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Beaver.
The typical Beaver home is worth about $102,000, down 4.7% in a year, 54% below the Oklahoma typical home. Beaver’s median rent is $749 a month, near the Oklahoma town median ($873 a month) and below the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Beaver | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $749 a month | $873 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 62% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Beaver school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver EsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 176 | B |
| Beaver HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 74 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 84% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Beaver beats the Oklahoma average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 37% of adults get no exercise outside work in Beaver. Only 8 of the 132 Oklahoma towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Beaver.
| Beaver | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 40% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Beaver | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.6% | 76.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.7% | 11.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Beaver has chilly winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Beaver’s July high is 95°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 3 of Beaver’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Beaver is 14 minutes. Since 2013, Beaver has lost 93 jobs, to 547 in 2023.
| Beaver | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 32% | 22% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Beaver; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Beaver residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oklahoma.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
3 places in Beaver on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Oklahoma, US
Beaver is a town in and the county seat of Beaver County, Oklahoma, United States, in the Oklahoma Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,280. Beaver hosts the annual World Cow Chip Throwing Championship. Originally known as Beaver City, the town began as the site of a fur trading post in 1879 and was planned to be the capital of the proposed Cimarron Territory. The Federal government never recognized the proposed territory, but Beaver remained a center of business and law enforcement in the area. In 1890 it became the seat of Seventh County, encompassing the entire Oklahoma Panhandle, and later the county seat of Beaver County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
2 notable people were born here, including Ross Rizley and Timothy D. Leonard.
