Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Oklahoma?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Oklahoma with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 38 cities in the Sooner State with over 5,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Oklahoma? The city with the highest murder rate in Oklahoma is Henryetta with 36 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Oklahoma with highest number of murders? The city in Oklahoma with the highest number of murders is Oklahoma City with 73 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Oklahoma ranked. There were ‘only’ 38 cities in Oklahoma where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 37 places had no murder.
36 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
Okmulgee County, Oklahoma
Henryetta is a city in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 5,510 at the 2010 census, down 9.6 percent from 6,096 at the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
32 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma
Tecumseh is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,457 at the 2010 census, a 5.9 percent increase from 6,098 at the 2000 census. It was named for the noted Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, and was designated as the county seat at Oklahoma’s statehood. A county-wide election moved the seat to Shawnee in 1930.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
31 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
Mayes County, Oklahoma
Pryor Creek, more commonly known as Pryor, is a city in and county seat of Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,659 at the 2000 census, compared to 9,539 in the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
17 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
Woodward County, Oklahoma
Woodward is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a nine-county area. The population was 12,051 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
Kay County, Oklahoma
Blackwell is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 177 and State Highway 11 along Interstate 35. The population was 7,092 at the 2010 census. Blackwell was established following the September 16, 1893 Cherokee Outlet land run by A. J. Blackwell. Blackwell has an agricultural and fossil fuel based economy.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
16 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Choctaw is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. It is the oldest chartered town in Oklahoma. The city is located approximately 10 miles east of Oklahoma City and is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
14 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
McClain County, Oklahoma
Purcell is a city in McClain County, Oklahoma, United States, and the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,884.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
14 per 100k · #8 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
McCurtain County, Oklahoma
Idabel is a city in and county seat of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,010 at the 2010 census. It is located in the southeast corner of Oklahoma, a tourist area known as Kiamichi Country.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #9 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
Washita County, Oklahoma
Clinton is a city in Custer and Washita counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 9,556 at the 2015 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
12 per 100k · #10 highest murder rate in Oklahoma
Located in
Sequoyah County, Oklahoma
Sallisaw is a city and county seat of Sequoyah County. The population was 8,880 at the 2010 Census, an 11.2 percent increase from 7,891 at the 2000 census. Sallisaw is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Oklahoma’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Oklahoma’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Oklahoma
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Oklahoma for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 38 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Henryetta. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Oklahoma. We updated the list for 2026. Property crime in Oklahoma runs about 13 percent above the national rate — worth a minute to compare home security systems before you sign a lease.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Oklahoma
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henryetta | 5,604 | 2 | 36 |
| 2 | Tecumseh | 6,344 | 2 | 32 |
| 3 | Pryor Creek | 9,697 | 3 | 31 |
| 4 | Woodward | 11,641 | 2 | 17 |
| 5 | Blackwell | 6,073 | 1 | 16 |
| 6 | Choctaw | 12,253 | 2 | 16 |
| 7 | Purcell | 6,938 | 1 | 14 |
| 8 | Idabel | 6,966 | 1 | 14 |
| 9 | Clinton | 8,345 | 1 | 12 |
| 10 | Sallisaw | 8,688 | 1 | 12 |
| 11 | Skiatook | 8,861 | 1 | 11 |
| 12 | Muskogee | 36,898 | 4 | 11 |
| 13 | Altus | 18,613 | 2 | 11 |
| 14 | Oklahoma City | 709,456 | 73 | 10 |
| 15 | Lawton | 90,209 | 9 | 10 |
| 16 | Tulsa | 411,310 | 39 | 9 |
| 17 | Elk City | 11,201 | 1 | 9 |
| 18 | Ponca City | 24,286 | 2 | 8 |
| 19 | Ardmore | 24,886 | 2 | 8 |
| 20 | Miami | 12,836 | 1 | 8 |
| 21 | Midwest City | 57,961 | 4 | 7 |
| 22 | Newcastle | 15,096 | 1 | 7 |
| 23 | Ada | 16,655 | 1 | 6 |
| 24 | Chickasha | 16,979 | 1 | 6 |
| 25 | McAlester | 18,134 | 1 | 6 |
| 26 | El Reno | 19,965 | 1 | 5 |
| 27 | Sand Springs | 20,133 | 1 | 5 |
| 28 | Durant | 20,850 | 1 | 5 |
| 29 | Del City | 21,151 | 1 | 5 |
| 30 | Sapulpa | 23,322 | 1 | 4 |
| 31 | Mustang | 24,424 | 1 | 4 |
| 32 | Broken Arrow | 121,004 | 4 | 3 |
| 33 | Shawnee | 31,966 | 1 | 3 |
| 34 | Bartlesville | 38,361 | 1 | 3 |
| 35 | Owasso | 42,134 | 1 | 2 |
| 36 | Edmond | 99,249 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | Moore | 63,609 | 1 | 2 |
| 38 | Norman | 130,681 | 1 | 1 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 38 Oklahoma cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Oklahoma For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Oklahoma with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Oklahoma are Henryetta, Tecumseh, Pryor Creek, Woodward, Blackwell, Choctaw, Purcell, Idabel, Clinton, and Sallisaw. Not sold on Oklahoma? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Deadliest Cities In Oklahoma FAQs
What city in Oklahoma has the highest murder rate?
Henryetta has the highest murder rate in Oklahoma for 2026, at 36 murders per 100,000 residents. That is based on the latest FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
What is the murder capital of Oklahoma?
Henryetta is the murder capital of Oklahoma on a per-capita basis. On raw numbers, Oklahoma City logged the most murders with 73.
How many cities in Oklahoma reported no murders at all?
37 Oklahoma cities reported zero murders to the FBI in the most recent reporting year. Only 38 cities reported at least one, and those are the ones in this ranking.
What are the deadliest cities in Oklahoma?
The deadliest cities in Oklahoma are Henryetta, Tecumseh, Pryor Creek, Woodward, Blackwell, Choctaw, Purcell, Idabel, Clinton, and Sallisaw, ranked by murders per capita. All of the numbers come from the FBI’s most recent Uniform Crime Report.
Why rank by murder rate instead of total murders?
Because population size swamps everything else. The biggest cities almost always log the most total murders, but a rate per 100,000 residents shows where the risk actually runs highest — which is why Henryetta tops this list at 36 per 100k.
