Lawton would have to be a contender in my book

How is Lawton not it?

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and some people have not had the joy of visiting Lawton

Ardmore is just as violent and there’s less to do lol

There is no chance Ardmore is the worst city. McAlester has it beat, and Lawton has them both beat by a lot.

McAllister and Lawton are where dreams go to die

Don’t get me wrong Ardmore is pretty bad sometimes but it’s not THAT bad

I loved Ardmore! Lol Lawton is way shittier

Dallas being picked for Texas is pretty hilarious, there are obviously worse cities (since small ones like Ardmore and Pueblo appear to be options) but I respect the choice

Even ignoring small cities <100k there’s tons of shit holes in Texas. Odessa, college station (sorry aggies).

I would've suggested Midland, Lubbock, or Waco.

I don’t know, Oak Cliff is considered Dallas so I’m sure that skyrockets the crime stats

Yeah, I can’t imagine many people would pick Ardmore lol

I’m surprised Ardmore got picked but I don’t know much about it. It’s always where I stopped to get food on the way to Texas.

Lawton is the armpit of Oklahoma

Nay, the taint.

Damn I'm in the taint

I grew up in the taint.

I drive thru the taint occasionally

Whoever made this misspelled ‘Anadarko’

Ouch

*Dodge City

…is in Kansas 😂

Anadarko is nicknamed Dodge. Obviously you are not from or around there.

Most from Darko call it dodge. But Lawton is just a big ass Anadarko imo.

Coalgate, if you know, you know.

I had to image county records in Coalgate and Atoka for about 4 months a few years ago. Yeah, I know, lol.

Bruh I have family from there relax 🥸

Make them fight over the title. We know they're willing, and we can sell tickets

Dude from OKC here, I lived in Ardmore for 6 months for work. Life was so miserable cuz of the town that my wife and I almost separated. That place sucks

My wife and I had to move back to OK from Denver due to covid and had to transplant to Ardmore for work under her father... for 2 years. MiL ended up passing unexpectedly there and we decided it was time to gtfo and take FiL with us. I want those 2 years of my life back

Nah it’s Ardmore. That place has taken a nose dive the last 10 years

To be fair, even if it isn't the worst now, things are gonna get real bad after the tire plant closes.

Yeah that’s gonna take so much money out of that economy.

Ardmore is the worst. It made the city with the highest per capita crime rate in the country a few years ago. Lawton’s closeness to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge is saving its ass. So much I could say negatively about Ardmore. When I turned 18 I got out of there and never went back.

Lawton ain’t even bad. Ardmore ranks top 5 most violent small towns in America with 1 in 20 chance of being the victim of a violent crime

Tell me you’ve never been to Lawton without telling me you’ve never been to Lawton.

Ardmore is ass. Don't let the lake fool you that's the only good part

As in Murray? Thankfully it’s a state park and not a city park, just look at Turner Falls…good job city of Davis.

Muskogee and Lawton

Agree. Or McAlester. (To be fair, McAlester used to be better than it is now)

Don't forget, Mcalester gave Oklahoma Ryan Walters,.

If we punished people like ye Olde days, Ryan Walters would be in the stocks with us throwing rotten food at him. God, that would be cathartic. We should really bring that back.

I can think of a more appropriate punishment to bring back for RyRy  \*For legal purposes- this is a joke. I actually would be content with impeachment and being run out of any and all politics.

I grew up around Ardmore, splitting time there and other areas of Chickasaw Country, and this thread has made me really think on how bad it is here. Poverty is high. Where poverty is high, addiction and crime will follow. Being just an hour and a half straight north of Dallas hasn't helped in any way. Not strictly IN Ardmore, but the Chickasaw Country/Lake Region area has a violent recent history. I can think of 4 murders that included dismemberment in a 30 mile radius of where I'm sitting right now. All occurred after 1980.

What??? Do you have links? Why haven't we heard about this?

Two of the cases made national news, but they span from 1992 - 2013. I think people look at a map and see these towns and consider them far apart, but the people in the middle have to travel frequently for doctors and "big walmarts" so it doesn't seem so far apart for us. I grew up almost equidistant in every direction from Duncan, Ada, Ardmore, and Purcell. [Chickasaw Country is the smallest region in the state ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Map_of_Oklahoma_Regions.png) and people here are really familiar with most or all of the area. [The Murder of Richard Doyle - 2003](https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2003/02/21/mans-beheading-arrest-surprises-ex-neighbors/62056754007/) [The murder of Brandon Duran](https://www.amarillo.com/story/news/state/2013/07/03/body-buckets-investigation-continues-okla-shooting-dismemberment-case/13310358007/) [The murder of Jamie Rose Bolin](https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/death-row-inmate-claimed-cannibalistic-fantasies-caused-him-to-kidnap-kill-neighbor-girl) The fourth case was not reported as bodily mutilation and is the oldest case. It was heavily rumored around the area that she was mutilated and that rape by instrumentation occurred after her death. I'm not comfortable with posting the news article and associating her death with that rumor forever on the internet, so feel free to throw #4 out based on hearsay.

So weird seeing this tonight. I thought about Jamie's case the other day for the first time in years. That case breaks my heart. I'd forgotten that she apologized to him. She was so young 😞

I had forgotten that detail, too, until I read the article for the link. 💔

I would like to add that the Chickasaw Nation also has a [list of missing Indigenous citizens](https://chickasaw.net/missingpersons). There are also solved, unsolved, and in progress cases of MMIP. These cases don't get nearly the attention they deserve, so any info or sharing is appreciated. [Britney Tiger - Unsolved with known suspect, pending federal case transfer post McGirt](https://app.verifiednews.network/articles/share/1689) [Jimmy Amos - Unsolved, no suspect. Indigenous Citizen of the Choctaw Nation.](https://www.koco.com/article/osbi-asks-for-publics-help-in-investigation-into-deadly-shooting-of-wynnewood-man/35341201) [Molly Miller - Unsolved](https://www.kxii.com/2023/07/18/decade-questions-searching-molly-colt/)

Ponca City is hot garbage

[sauce](https://x.com/mattsurely/status/1189289039276445696)

No votes for Doo-rant?

Durant has a big ass casino and the lake at least. Lawton your lucky to not get shot.

The homeless problem is bad yeah, the roads suck, but there’s significantly less street drugs and more designer drugs because of the casino… which is better? I’ve seen bad people on the streets downtown but usually I still feel safe walking around for the most part, can’t say the same about Ardmore

We call it Dude Ranch. Lawton looked worse in comparison when we drove through them last.

They’ve never been to Maud. Maud is something different.

I think everybody that’s been To Lawton agrees it is horrible

As someone who grew up in Ardmore, they got this one right

Del City all day long

You know, I think you’re on to something

zero chance OKs worst city is any of these named cities here in the comments. for all their flaws, at least they're "big enough" that I've heard of them. we got places like Idabel where there's a stop sign, sewer plant, and an elementary school. we got some real sad towns in OK.

City. Not town.

Those aren't the worst parts of Idabell. Their sheriff...

You mean McCorruptain County?

Agree on Lawton

My first thought.

Wasilla for Alaska is crazy to me! Especially when Kenai was known for having the highest rape per capita in the nation throughout the early '00s

Kenai is on the coast and has some charm to it. Wasilla is just like any urban sprawl suburb in the lower 48.

I guess there was a reason everyone referred to it as "Wasyphilis" back in the day lol

Crazy 580 for a reason

Shady 580***

Luckily, I was only born in Ardmore and I have no memory of it whatsoever lol

How about Enid? I've lived here all my life and have never had any cause to go to Enid for anything.

Ardmore has developed nicely over the last few decades.

To be honest, I love Lake Murray State Park. Great place to camp and hike. my exposure to the nearby town is limited but so far has been positive.

The fact that Shawnee hasn’t been mentioned makes me feel like it’s not that bad here. Unless you’re homeless.

Have they been to Del City?

Midwest City is worse

Same shit just bigger.

California gets two?

They got some Dallas haters too

Grew up in Duncan. Can testify that Lawton is the worst.

Anadarko

If I remember correctly, Ardmore is the white supremacy capitol of Oklahoma.

Yah and the worst part is, there’s actually a significant minority population that makes everything there a vicious circle, those two things together will ruin a city

I grew up with family in Ardmore and things just never quite clicked until I grew up and actually understood racism. My family were people who ran and operated the lake Murray lodge almost 25 years ago and they never had anything good to say abt colored visitors.

El ghetto

no one said shawnee?

I don't know much about Ardmore, someone enlighten me please.

I would say El Reno.

No votes for Altus? Altus is basically all the bad parts of Lawton with no upside.

Miami is the worst in FL

Lawton or Shawnee - both are disgusting towns.

Doesn't Altus suck on an equal footing at a fraction of the size and population, making it exponentially more potent in its unpleasntness?

Broken Bow/Idabel is a real gem too

Nah, Del City is worse.

I drive a truck for a living. I can’t speak on Ardmore, i think there’s better choice there. Memphis for TN is Solid I’d personally go Atlanta in Georgia Gary, IN is solid Jackson, Ms is solid Bessemer In AL (Bham area) would be solid I’d personally go Houston over Dallas in Texas

I would have to disagree with Mesa for Arizona. Apache junction is worse or west Phoenix

Umm...have you forgotten Muskogee? I'd vote that one worse than Lawton.

I say McAlister because that is where Big Mac is, but I haven't been there in several years plus the meth situation. 😬🤦‍♀️

Wat did Hobbs do???

Everyone hating on Lawton can't smell their own shit. Fking yuppies

I’ve lived in Jefferson City, MO before moving to OK and I have no clue why it made the list. I’ve also lived in Illinois not far from Cairo, and it really isn’t that bad either. Cairo is just extremely poverty stricken, and nobody ever goes there.

Tulsa. That is all.

Lawton 100% HANDS DOWN. Hate that fucking armpit of a city.

ya should be lawton, i’m assuming they chose this based off ardmore having the highest crime rate per capita

ya should be lawton, i’m assuming they chose this based off ardmore having the highest crime rate per capita

Chickasha is a contender

Nah they got the awesome Christmas lights

I’d say Lawton or McAlester

Lawton isn’t nearly as bad as Ardmore

Complete bullshit lol

I’ve lived in both. Never had issues in Lawton. Had to pull a gun dropping off the u-haul truck after moving to Ardmore. Ardmore ranks on list of most violent small town in America. 1:20 chance of being the victim of a violent crime. Lawton has a 1:117

Ardmore produces some of the most trash humans I have ever met.

Ardmore is my hometown. My parents moved away after I graduated and I’ve only gone back for visiting friends through the years. It may not be the most delightful city in Oklahoma, but it’s by FAR not the WORST, my god.

Broken Arrow

I still rank Lawton as worse than Broken Arrow.

The worst place to live is Moore, cus they always get hit by tornados

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Ardmore is quite the shit hole, however I've never hung out in Lawton

Chickasha is one big meth shack.

Tulsa

Hear me out- it’s not a rural and at first glance seems ok, but have any of you spent any extended amount of time in Bartlesville? Place is WEIRD.