The 10 Best College Towns In Oklahoma For 2024

Believe it or not, America has the best colleges in the world. It's been proven by data (and surveys) that the U.S. educational system is of the highest quality

It's actually not even close and Oklahoma is home to a handful of them.

While we could debate which colleges within Oklahoma are the 'best,' that's not the goal of this post.

Instead, ride along with us as we determine which college towns in Oklahoma are the best.

You know, the type of places where there's energy and stimulation, but the type of place you can walk around at night. The happiest, chillest, most downright fun places where you can send your kids off to college where you won't break the bank, or worry about their well being.

The 10 Best College Towns In Oklahoma For 2024

1. Tahlequah, OK
2. Stillwater, OK
3. Alva, OK
4. Edmond, OK
5. Weatherford, OK
6. Ada, OK
7. Okmulgee, OK
8. Bethany, OK
9. Durant, OK
10. Claremore, OK

While some of these may not seem like a 'real' college town per se, when you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue against.

And for those who live in Tahlequah, Stillwater and Alva - we tip our hats to you and we'll schedule a tour for next week. You can see where Tahlequah ranks in terms of the best college town in America.

Read on to find out more or for more on Oklahoma check out:

• Best Places To Live In Oklahoma
• Best Counties To Live In Oklahoma
• Cheapest Places To Live In Oklahoma

The 10 Best College Towns In Oklahoma For 2024

Colleges: Northeastern State University, Indian Capital Technology Center-Tahlequah, Beauty Technical College Inc

Colleges: Oklahoma State University-Main Campus, Meridian Technology Center

Colleges: Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Northwest Technology Center-Alva

Colleges: University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma Christian University

Colleges: Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Colleges: East Central University, Pontotoc Technology Center

Colleges: Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, Green Country Technology Center, College of the Muscogee Nation

Colleges: Southern Nazarene University, Southwestern Christian University

Colleges: Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Kiamichi Technology Center-Durant, Southern School of Beauty Inc

Colleges: Rogers State University, Claremore Beauty College, Northeast Technology Center-Claremore

How'd we figure out the best college towns in Oklahoma?

To crunch our data on Oklahoma's best college towns, we used Saturday Night Science to decide which qualities (or rankings) make sense to use in the data, and then crunch the numbers for our rankings.

First off, we firmly decided that only cities with a 4 year college should make the cut -- so there has to be at least one college granting bachelors degrees in town.

You might be surprised to hear that there are only 17 places in Oklahoma with an institution of higher learning with that criteria.

Source of data include OpenStreetMaps, the College Scorecard, the U.S. Census, and FBI reporting data to include the following factors:

• Students Make Up Large % of the Population
• College-specific Factors
• Graduation rate
• Tuition Cost
• Student Body Diversity
• Town Characteristics
• Safety
• Affordability
• Income and Employment Opportunities
• Things to Do
• Bars
• Museums & Libraries
• Population Density

We ranked each city across each of the criteria, with one being the best.

We rolled up the individual scores into the category and ranked them again based on the category.

Finally, we took the average rank across each category, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title "Best College Town In Oklahoma For 2024." We updated this article for 2024. This is our six time ranking the best college towns in Oklahoma.

And it looks like Tahlequah placed Summa Cum Laude.

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In The Oklahoma

If you're looking for the best college towns in Oklahoma, you came to the right place.

The best college towns in Oklahoma are Tahlequah, Stillwater, Alva, Edmond, Weatherford, Ada, Okmulgee, Bethany, Durant, and Claremore.

These places all have great college sports programs, tons of stuff to do, and are great places to raise a family.

For more reading, check out:

• Best Places To Retire In Oklahoma
• Best Cities For Singles In Oklahoma
• Snobbiest Places In Oklahoma

17 Best College Towns In Oklahoma

Rank	City	Population
1	Tahlequah, OK	16389
2	Stillwater, OK	48644
3	Alva, OK	5020
4	Edmond, OK	94503
5	Weatherford, OK	11999
6	Ada, OK	16537
7	Okmulgee, OK	11366
8	Bethany, OK	20620
9	Durant, OK	18759
10	Claremore, OK	19724
11	Tulsa, OK	411938
12	Norman, OK	127701
13	Lawton, OK	91023
14	Chickasha, OK	16231
15	Moore, OK	62685
16	Oklahoma City, OK	681088
17	Shawnee, OK	31391