Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Okmulgee earns a D−, better than 3% of U.S. towns, mostly because of health and schools. Residents are less healthy than 98% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its schools rank behind 94% of the state's. What it does well: homes are within reach, about $106K for a typical one, or 1.5 years of the Tulsa metro’s $69K median household income. Okmulgee’s property crime rate is 33.9 per 1,000 residents, against 14 in Oklahoma’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. On safety, just 16 of Oklahoma’s 196 towns do worse. Okmulgee is home to Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology.
Where Okmulgee beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Creek National Capitol is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 4,176 in 1910, a peak of 18,317 in 1950, 11,322 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1878 and a map from 1971 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Okmulgee is from typical.
Its grades run from A for cost of living (better than 85% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 2%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Okmulgee, 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 Okmulgee.
Okmulgee trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and trades workers with Tulsa and other neighbors.
41% of Okmulgee adults get no exercise outside work. Okmulgee beats the Oklahoma average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 17% of Okmulgee adults have diabetes.
| Okmulgee | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 34% | 25% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 41% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 40% | 35% |
| What stands out | Okmulgee | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.7% | 10.3% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 14.5% | 9.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 27.5% | 18.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Okmulgee school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Okmulgee HS, with 339 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okmulgee Primary EsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 470 | D− |
| Okmulgee HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 339 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
Okmulgee’s violent crime rate is 6.1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Homes are within reach (about $106K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 30 miles. At 1.5 years of the Tulsa metro’s $69K median household income, the typical home (about $106K) costs less against local pay than in 92% of Oklahoma towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
51% of households own their home in Okmulgee. Typical home values fell 8.5% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Okmulgee is $837 a month.
| Okmulgee | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $837 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Okmulgee has chilly winters and hot summers. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 28° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Okmulgee has about as many jobs (3,829) as working residents, but only 975 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Okmulgee’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Tulsa (19%), Preston (5%) and Oklahoma City (4%).
| Okmulgee | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 22% | 8% |
| Median household income | $42,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1.4 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Hawthorn Park, at 36 acres.
| Okmulgee | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.1% | 6.9% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hawthorn Park | — | 36 |
| 2. Okmulgee Municipal Park | — | 34 |
| 3. Kiddy Lake Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 2007, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Okmulgee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Okmulgee
About 9 of every 100 Okmulgee residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oklahoma.
2 colleges in town.
16 places in Okmulgee on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Okmulgee.
City in Oklahoma, United States
Okmulgee is a city in the Tulsa metropolitan area and the county seat of Okmulgee County in Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, Okmulgee had a population of 11,322. The name is from the Muskogee word okimulgi, which means "boiling waters". The site was chosen because of the nearby rivers and springs. Okmulgee is 38 miles south of Tulsa and 13 miles north of Henryetta via US-75.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Okmulgee grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns. It grades D− for health, D for safety and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
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.
21 notable people were born here, including Will Sampson and Oscar Pettiford.
