Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sallisaw grades D overall, 98th among Oklahoma's 131 graded towns, mostly because of health and safety. On CDC estimates, its residents' health ranks in the bottom 2% nationally. Its police reported 43 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 90% of U.S. towns. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. 30% of residents live below the poverty line in Sallisaw, above both the Oklahoma town median (18%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Sallisaw has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Judge Franklin Faulkner House and Hines Round Barn. The median household income is $48K, and 30% of residents live below the poverty line.
Where Sallisaw beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Sallisaw | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 29.5% | 16.4% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oklahoma), ordered by how far Sallisaw is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 86% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 1%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 965 in 1900, 8,510 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1845 and 3 maps from 1967 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sallisaw, 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 Sallisaw.
Sallisaw trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has more 90° days than most of the country, though not than most of Oklahoma; it also has poverty well above the Oklahoma rate.
Sallisaw beats the Oklahoma average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 23. 25% of Sallisaw adults smoke cigarettes. Only 5 of the 131 Oklahoma towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have obesity than Sallisaw.
| Sallisaw | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 41% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Sallisaw | OK |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 29.5% | 16.4% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.3% | 8% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 15.9% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Sallisaw school district.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty EsLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 559 | – |
| Sallisaw HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 608 | A− |
| Eastside EsTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 345 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OK on state tests and graduation
Sallisaw’s property crime rate is 27 per 1,000 residents. Sallisaw reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less. Sallisaw’s violent crime rate is 4.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Sallisaw | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 27 per 1,000 residents | 14 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.9 per 1,000 residents | 2.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Sallisaw is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lions Club Walking Trail | 0.4 mi | 3 |
| 2. Jay Reynolds Park | — | 16 |
| 3. Alex Denton Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1994, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sallisaw.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Sallisaw 2 Nw weather station records that about 61 days a year reach 90°: more than most of the country, but fewer than 80% of Oklahoma places with climate records.
Sallisaw has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 93°, January nights drop to 29° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $182K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles.
The typical Sallisaw home is worth about $182,000, up 4.2% in a year, 18% below the Oklahoma typical home. 54% of households own their home in Sallisaw.
| Sallisaw | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 62% | 73% |
| Median rent | $826 a month | $875 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
About one in 3 of Sallisaw’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Sallisaw has lost 779 jobs, to 4,303 in 2023. The top destinations are Fort Smith (9%), Tulsa (5%) and Oklahoma City (4%).
| Sallisaw | Oklahoma towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 33% | 22% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $48,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 5% | 6.6% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Sallisaw; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Sallisaw residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oklahoma.
4 places in Sallisaw on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Sallisaw.
City in Oklahoma, United States
Sallisaw is the largest city in and the county seat of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 Census, it had a population of 8,510, a 4.2 percent decrease over the figure of 8,880 recorded in 2010. Sallisaw is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Sallisaw.
| Town | OK rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sallisaw | #98 | D | B+ | D | B− | D− |
| Badger Lee | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Badger Lee isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sallisaw with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sallisaw grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #98 of 131 in Oklahoma. It grades D− for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 3.1 years of the area's median household income ($58,468 across the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area).
4 notable people were born here, including John Jarman and Brian Foster.
