Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Chelsea’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for health. On health, just 9 of Oklahoma’s 229 towns do worse. The median household income is $51K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. Only 5 of the 132 Oklahoma towns we compare have a higher average trip to work than Chelsea. Chelsea has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Hogue House and Pryor Creek Bridge. Chelsea has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Chelsea beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Hogue House| Widest gap | Chelsea | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.4% | 16.4% |
Where Chelsea’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Chelsea is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 566 in 1900, 1,991 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1970 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chelsea, 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 Chelsea.
In Chelsea, two in five adults sleep under 7 hours, above both Oklahoma’s towns (38%) and U.S. towns (36%). 13% of adults binge drink in the town. Only 3 of the 132 Oklahoma towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Chelsea.
| Chelsea | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 18% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 25% |
| What stands out | Chelsea | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.4% | 16.4% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 15.9% | 9.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.1% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The public schools here belong to the Chelsea school district. Two of its 3 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art Goad EsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 377 | D |
| Chelsea HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 245 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
The going rate for rent for Chelsea comes to $805 a month, against $873 a month in Oklahoma’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. Among households in the town, 56% own their home. Typical home values rose 3% in the year to September 2026.
| Chelsea | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $805 a month | $873 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Half of commuters travel less than 29 miles. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Chelsea rose by 62, to 542. Most working residents leave Chelsea for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Claremore (17%), Tulsa (16%) and Oklahoma City (8%).
| Chelsea | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 22% | 8% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.1% | 6.6% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Chelsea after 4 declared disasters, most recently in 2024. On expected storm and flood damage, Chelsea sits above 74% of U.S. communities. 54% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by heat waves at 14%. Flood insurance has paid one claim locally since 2019.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its typical July afternoon high comes in at 92°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Chelsea’s level of property crime is 4.5 per 1,000 residents. Its rate of reported violence comes in at 3.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Chelsea | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.5 per 1,000 residents | 14 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Chelsea. Close and well known come first.
39 mi Stadium & arenaSkelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium
39 mi MuseumThe Outsiders House Museum39 mi Theme parkBell's Amusement Park
18 mi MuseumWill Rogers Memorial Museum
7 mi MuseumEd Galloway's Totem Pole Park36 mi Zoo & aquariumTulsa Zoo600K visitors a yearSkelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium: Chippothenut, CC BY 3.0 · The Outsiders House Museum: TheDoctorWho, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Will Rogers Memorial Museum: TheWhitePelican, CC BY 3.0 · Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park: Photo by and ©2004 Dustin M. Ramsey (Kralizec!), CC BY-SA 2.5
None within 15 miles of Chelsea; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Chelsea residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oklahoma.
3 places in Chelsea on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Oklahoma, United States
Chelsea is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Chelsea had a population of 1,991. Chelsea was named after the area in London, England, by Charles Peach, a railroad official who was a native of London. The town was the site of the Chelsea-Alluwe Oil Field, which produced a significant amount of oil from circa 1910 until the early 1920s, before it played out. Will Rogers attended a subscription school on Cherokee Land in Chelsea.
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.
