10 Bad Things About Living In Oklahoma

As much as we love the Sooner State, there are some bad things about living in Oklahoma that need to be addressed. From education to health to poverty, here are 10 scary facts about Oklahoma. They may be unsettling to read but they are also all fixable if we commit to making our community the best that it can be!

Oklahoma ranks dead last among the 50 states in fruit consumption.

Jamie Davies/Flickr And 44th in vegetable consumption.

Oklahoma Public Schools rank third-worst in the country.

Richard Lee/Flickr The Sooner State got a D+ for Oklahoma public school education, ranking Oklahoma 48 out of 50 states, and the District of Columbia.

16.6% of Oklahomans live below poverty level.

Luis Felipe Salas/Flickr Oklahoma has the nation’s third-highest rate of people working at or below the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

The state not only has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in the United States, but also the sixth-highest adult obesity rate in the nation.

Steve Baker/Flickr An estimated 857,000 adult Oklahoma residents are obese. Oklahomans also had the most unhealthy behaviors in the U.S. in 2013. More than 6% of adults said they have had a heart attack as of last year, more than in any other state.

Oklahoma has the highest rate of female incarcerations in the country.

Thomas Hawk/Flickr The state currently incarcerates 132 women for every 100,000 females in the state — almost double the national average.

Oklahoma ranks ninth in the nation for most meth labs.

Paul Gorbold/Flickr In 2014, Oklahoma had 436 meth labs. This is actually a decrease from 830 in 2012.

We have the sixth highest teen birth rate in the nation.

bradfordst219/Flickr Twenty new babies are being born to Oklahoma teenagers every single day.

Oklahoma has the second highest use rate of tobacco products.

Fried Dough/Flickr Along with the associated health problems.

Oklahoma is one of the worst states in the nation for overall mental health.

Hartwig HKD/Flickr A new report released by the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2014 says that more than 630,000 Oklahomans suffer from some form of mental illness.

The states two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, ranked among some of the worst roads in the nation.

_chrisuk/Flickr While the roads aren’t the worst, experts say Oklahomans are paying a hefty price for repairs. Residents in Tulsa spend roughly $928 to pay for car repairs that result from the bad roads. Oklahoma City follows at $917.

What is wrong with Oklahoma?! We still love the Sooner State, but let’s see if we can make some improvements in these areas. What do you think about all of the bad things about living in Oklahoma?

Jamie Davies/Flickr

And 44th in vegetable consumption.

Richard Lee/Flickr

The Sooner State got a D+ for Oklahoma public school education, ranking Oklahoma 48 out of 50 states, and the District of Columbia.

Luis Felipe Salas/Flickr

Oklahoma has the nation’s third-highest rate of people working at or below the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Steve Baker/Flickr

An estimated 857,000 adult Oklahoma residents are obese. Oklahomans also had the most unhealthy behaviors in the U.S. in 2013. More than 6% of adults said they have had a heart attack as of last year, more than in any other state.

Thomas Hawk/Flickr

The state currently incarcerates 132 women for every 100,000 females in the state — almost double the national average.

Paul Gorbold/Flickr

In 2014, Oklahoma had 436 meth labs. This is actually a decrease from 830 in 2012.

bradfordst219/Flickr

Twenty new babies are being born to Oklahoma teenagers every single day.

Fried Dough/Flickr

Along with the associated health problems.

Hartwig HKD/Flickr

A new report released by the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2014 says that more than 630,000 Oklahomans suffer from some form of mental illness.

_chrisuk/Flickr

While the roads aren’t the worst, experts say Oklahomans are paying a hefty price for repairs. Residents in Tulsa spend roughly $928 to pay for car repairs that result from the bad roads. Oklahoma City follows at $917.

While we like to acknowledge that there are bad things about Oklahoma, there are also many good things about living in Oklahoma too, like our low cost of living, delicious food, amazing colleges, and of course, the unbeatable nature.

If you are waffling about our fine state, maybe take a look at our list of Oklahoma road trips that are sure to help you fall in love with us again (or for the first time.) You can explore waterfalls, haunted places, ghost towns, and more!

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The OIYS Visitor Center

Oklahoma Culture December 30, 2022 Sara Dager Do Oklahomans have any interesting slang? Oklahomans can at times speak what sounds like an entirely different language, it’s such a unique dialect. Some fun examples of Oklahoma slang include:

“Fraidy hole” is a fun way to refer to a tornado shelter. “Billfold” is another word for a wallet. “Tarnation” is an exclamation basically meaning, “what the hell?!” “Fixing to…” means getting ready to, such as “we’re fixing to leave.” “All y’all” is the plural for y’all (which is already plural, but do we care?)

What habits do Oklahomans have? If you’re a visitor to Oklahoma, some of the things that the locals can do might look pretty unfamiliar, but they are actually long-held Oklahoman habits! Such as:

A commitment to friendliness, even with strangers. Deep frying absolutely everything. Chasing tornados (yup! we don’t always run from them.) Covering everything in ranch dressing. Spending the whole summer floating on rivers and lakes.

What are the most popular foods in Oklahoma? If you want to really feel like a true Oklahoman, taking part in some of the state’s beloved foods is a great way to begin. Some popular foods in Oklahoma are:

Oklahoma barbecue Sooner steaks Biscuits and gravy Cornbread Calf fries

The OIYS Visitor Center

Oklahoma Culture

December 30, 2022

Sara Dager

Do Oklahomans have any interesting slang? Oklahomans can at times speak what sounds like an entirely different language, it’s such a unique dialect. Some fun examples of Oklahoma slang include:

What habits do Oklahomans have? If you’re a visitor to Oklahoma, some of the things that the locals can do might look pretty unfamiliar, but they are actually long-held Oklahoman habits! Such as:

Oklahoma barbecue Sooner steaks Biscuits and gravy Cornbread Calf fries

The OIYS Visitor Center

Oklahomans can at times speak what sounds like an entirely different language, it’s such a unique dialect. Some fun examples of Oklahoma slang include:

“Fraidy hole” is a fun way to refer to a tornado shelter.
“Billfold” is another word for a wallet.
“Tarnation” is an exclamation basically meaning, “what the hell?!”
“Fixing to…” means getting ready to, such as “we’re fixing to leave.”
“All y’all” is the plural for y’all (which is already plural, but do we care?)

What habits do Oklahomans have?

If you’re a visitor to Oklahoma, some of the things that the locals can do might look pretty unfamiliar, but they are actually long-held Oklahoman habits! Such as:

A commitment to friendliness, even with strangers.
Deep frying absolutely everything.
Chasing tornados (yup! we don’t always run from them.)
Covering everything in ranch dressing.
Spending the whole summer floating on rivers and lakes.

What are the most popular foods in Oklahoma?

If you want to really feel like a true Oklahoman, taking part in some of the state’s beloved foods is a great way to begin. Some popular foods in Oklahoma are:

Oklahoma barbecue
Sooner steaks
Biscuits and gravy
Cornbread
Calf fries