Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,723, settled in 1869.
Pryor Creek earns a D, 122nd among Oklahoma's 131 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. Residents are less healthy than 94% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The median household income is $45K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 65% of U.S. towns. Pryor Creek’s property crime rate is 33.6 per 1,000 residents, against 14 in Oklahoma’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns. Pryor Creek reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, including 53 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Pryor Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 495 in 1900, 9,444 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1942 and 4 maps from 1896 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pryor Creek, 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 Pryor Creek.
Pryor Creek is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Oklahoma.
Against the 3,944 U.S. towns with household incomes like Pryor Creek’s, it is less healthy than 77%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
21% of Pryor Creek adults smoke cigarettes. Pryor Creek beats the Oklahoma average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 37% of Pryor Creek adults get no exercise outside work.
| Pryor Creek | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pryor Creek | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.7% | 8% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 12.7% | 9.6% |
| More smokers | 21.3% | 16.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Pryor school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Pryor HS, with 872 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pryor MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 626 | C+ |
| Pryor HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 872 | B+ |
| Roosevelt EsTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 517 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
Pryor Creek’s violent crime rate is 5.4 per 1,000 residents. Pryor Creek reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 89% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Pryor weather station records that about 60 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 84% of Oklahoma places with climate records. July afternoons average 92.2°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 79% of Oklahoma places with climate records; January nights average 26.7°.
Pryor Creek has chilly winters and hot summers. The July high in Pryor Creek is 92°F. About 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Pryor Creek | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 92°F | 93°F | 85°F |
| January low | 27°F | 28°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 4 of Pryor Creek’s working residents works in town. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Pryor Creek. Since 2013, Pryor Creek has added 377 jobs, to 5,600 in 2023.
| Pryor Creek | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 22% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1998, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pryor Creek.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Pryor Creek | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Whitaker Park | 0.4 mi | 9 |
| 2. Centennial Park | 0.4 mi | 9 |
| 3. Westside Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pryor Creek. Close and well known come first.
40 mi Stadium & arenaBOK Center
37 mi Stadium & arenaSkelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium
35 mi MuseumUSS Batfish
38 mi MuseumThe Outsiders House Museum
39 mi MuseumPhilbrook Museum of Art36 mi Theme parkBell's Amusement ParkBOK Center: Okiefromokla, Public domain · Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium: Chippothenut, CC BY 3.0 · USS Batfish: Blackwing.1, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Outsiders House Museum: TheDoctorWho, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Philbrook Museum of Art: Dustin M. Ramsey, aka Kralizec! at English Wikipedia. Cropped by CPacker., Attribution
None within 15 miles of Pryor Creek; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Pryor Creek residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oklahoma.
City in Oklahoma, United States
Pryor Creek or Pryor is a city in and the county seat of Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 9,444 as of the 2020 census. Originally named Coo-Y-Yah, Cherokee for "place of the huckleberries", it was renamed "Pryor Creek" in 1887 after the local railroad station, which was named for the nearby creek. Due to confusion in distinguishing handwritten mailing addresses to Pryor Creek and Pond Creek, the U.S. Postal Service name for the city was shortened to Pryor, and both names are in common usage.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pryor Creek grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #122 of 131 in Oklahoma. It grades D for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
