More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Tulsa to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Tulsa are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Tulsa ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Tulsa area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Tulsa proper, although Jenks certainly tries.
We examined the 15 biggest suburbs of Tulsa to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Oklahoma lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Tulsa in terms of quality of life.
$72,467 median income · $228,732 median home price
Located in
Wagoner County, Oklahoma
We’ll get the ball rolling with Catoosa, the absolute worst place to live around Tulsa according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Catoosa beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 6th worst in the Tulsa area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 3rd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Catoosa.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$58,558 median income · $263,323 median home price
Welcome to Inola. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 19.5 miles to Tulsa. Income levels here are the lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $58,558 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
$60,521 median income · $212,856 median home price
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Tulsa suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Mannford on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Tulsa suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,817 median income · $212,650 median home price
Located in
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
If you live in Sapulpa, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 4th lowest Tulsa suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 12th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Tulsa. Remember, we looked at 15 cities for this study.
Sapulpa is about 15.1 miles to downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$58,685 median income · $257,872 median home price
Located in
Rogers County, Oklahoma
Claremore has the distinction of being a Tulsa suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Claremore has the 8th lowest home values in the metro Tulsa area, where the median price is $257,872. The median income is $111,004.
Claremore has an unemployment rate of 5.9% which ranks 3rd worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$83,317 median income · $242,704 median home price
Kiefer has 2,639 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 10.4%.
$67,519 median income · $268,321 median home price
Located in
Wagoner County, Oklahoma
Ah, Coweta. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Tulsa.
It’s the place with the 9th most out of work residents in the Tulsa metro area (4.0%).
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$75,645 median income · $236,865 median home price
Located in
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Sand Springs is a city about 12.8 miles from Tulsa, but Tulsa probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Sand Springs has the 12th most uninsured people, 7th worst incomes, and has the 4th highest unemployment rate (5.9%) in the entire Tulsa metro area.
Homes only cost $236,865 for a reason. That’s cheap for Tulsa standards.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$79,525 median income · $242,874 median home price
Located in
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
If you absolutely have to live near Tulsa, then Glenpool might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Tulsa suburb.
About 3.3% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$90,570 median income · $282,492 median home price
Located in
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Rounding out the ten worst Tulsa suburbs to call home is Collinsville.
Located 16.8 miles outside the city, Collinsville is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 7th highest unemployment rate (4.4%), and poverty is far above the area average.
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.
Oklahoma statewide median: $65,039
Oklahoma statewide median: $220,468
Oklahoma statewide median: 5.0%
Oklahoma statewide median: 15.3%
On the map
Where the worst Tulsa suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Tulsa for 2026
To figure out how bad a Tulsa suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Tulsa.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 15 suburbs to evaluate around Tulsa.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 15 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Tulsa.” We’re looking at you, Catoosa.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Tulsa.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Tulsa Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catoosa | 3.00 | 7,496 | $72,467 | $228,732 |
| 2 | Inola | 3.86 | 2,011 | $58,558 | $263,323 |
| 3 | Mannford | 5.21 | 3,269 | $60,521 | $212,856 |
| 4 | Sapulpa | 5.93 | 22,570 | $63,817 | $212,650 |
| 5 | Claremore | 6.29 | 20,166 | $58,685 | $257,872 |
| 6 | Kiefer | 6.50 | 2,639 | $83,317 | $242,704 |
| 7 | Coweta | 6.86 | 10,433 | $67,519 | $268,321 |
| 8 | Sand Springs | 7.14 | 20,117 | $75,645 | $236,865 |
| 9 | Glenpool | 7.86 | 14,151 | $79,525 | $242,874 |
| 10 | Collinsville | 9.14 | 8,878 | $90,570 | $282,492 |
| 11 | Verdigris | 10.29 | 5,637 | $84,259 | $252,799 |
| 12 | Broken Arrow | 10.86 | 118,180 | $86,765 | $286,846 |
| 13 | Owasso | 11.43 | 40,151 | $79,036 | $315,428 |
| 14 | Bixby | 12.64 | 30,155 | $104,404 | $331,056 |
| 15 | Jenks | 13.00 | 27,102 | $111,004 | $352,171 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 15 suburbs within 30 miles of Tulsa.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Tulsa where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Tulsa with Catoosa casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Tulsa are Catoosa, Inola, Mannford, Sapulpa, Claremore, Kiefer, Coweta, Sand Springs, Glenpool, and Collinsville.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Tulsa aren’t all bad. Jenks takes the cake as the best place to live around Tulsa. Not sold on Oklahoma? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Tulsa FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Tulsa?
Catoosa ranks as the worst suburb around Tulsa for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Inola and Mannford are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Tulsa?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Tulsa are Catoosa, Inola, Mannford, Sapulpa, Claremore, Kiefer, Coweta, Sand Springs, Glenpool, and Collinsville. We scored all 15 places within 30 miles.
Why does Catoosa rank as the worst suburb?
Catoosa posts the roughest combined numbers of the 15 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $72,467, a median home value of $228,732, and a poverty rate of 12.8%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Tulsa?
Jenks lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Tulsa by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Tulsa list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
