There have been so many recent headlines about Oklahoma’s rankings in terms of quality of life that it is difficult to keep them all straight. Some of these ratings are imperfect, but they certainly are a cause for alarm. A few give reasons for hope, some point to a clear path for improvements, but other headlines, such as the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, reveal a recipe for disaster.
The most encouraging news involves Oklahoma City, whichU.S. News and World Reportranked as the nation’s 16thbest place to live. OKC has the nation’s10thfastest-growing housing market. And,Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt “highlightedplansto bring the 2028 Olympics to the city,new developmentin south OKC andefforts to end homelessness,”and gave a “shout-out" to the Oklahoma-based filmindustry. Holt, a Republican, has alsopraised the Biden administration, as well asthen-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellforthe Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,which hasinvestedmore than $100 million of federal fundsin Oklahoma City.
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Other great news was reported in the Journal Record’s “Oklahoma Boasts the Lowest Cost of Living in the U.S.”It explains that Oklahoma housing costs are nearly 1/3 less than the national average, thus “drawing homebuyers from other states for the past few years, especially employees who can keep their job on the coasts and work remotely.”
And anotherU.S. News and World Reportsurvey ranks the state 23rdin its economy, 26thin fiscal stability and 26th in opportunity. But Oklahoma has done a terrible job in investing in opportunity for all, which is something we could afford to do. We rank 49thin education, which is an essential investment if we want to maintain the influx of talent into the state. We also rank 49thin health care, which is one reason why Oklahoma ranks so low (44th) in life expectancy.
Oklahoma is blessed with wonderful nonprofits that advocate for science-based, humane social and public health policies that the Legislature and the governor refuse to properly fund. For instance, in the2024 KIDS COUNT®Data Book Oklahoma ranked 46th overall for child well-being, 39th in economic well-being, 40th in family and community context, 45th in health and 49th in education.
Moreover, Oklahoma ranked in the bottom 10 on eight of 16 indicators:
- Percent of children in poverty
- Percent of fourth-graders who scored below proficient reading level
- Percent of eighth-graders who scored below proficient math level
- Percent of high school students not graduating on time
- Percent of children in families where household head lacks a high school diploma
- Percent of children without health insurance
- Percent of children and teens ages 10 to 17 who are overweight or obese
- Teen birth rate
AndWalletHubranks Oklahoma as the eighth-worst state for working moms.
Oklahoma has also done an awful job of regulating industries and protecting people from climate change. Our state government seems to ignore predictions thatOklahoma is rankedfourth-worst in terms of drought threats. And Oklahoma City scored an88 out of 100 risk of extreme heat.Three of the nation’s dirtiest lakesare in Oklahoma. AndOklahoma is thesixth-most expensive state for home insurance, which is increasing due to weather effects from climate change. This is a result of the state’s failure to better regulate insurance companies. For instance, Garfield County has a“relatively low” level of risk,but the “typical Enid homeowner” spent more than six times the national average on insurance.
Moreover, despite grassroots efforts to reform Oklahoma’s criminal justice system, progress has been minimal. We remainfourth in states’ incarceration rates.Worse, when incarceration rates includeincarceration rates in prisons, jails, immigration detention centers, and juvenile justice facilities, our rate ishigher than that of any democratic country on earth.
I could go on and on about coverage of bad news getting worse. And I shouldn’t neglect theForbes Advisorreport that Oklahoma drivers are fourth-worst in the nation in road rage and confrontational behaviors.
That quirky statistic surprised me because I’ve long seen Oklahomans as decent, caring people. I must admit, however, I’ve been dismayed by the cruelty I’ve witnessed recently. For instance, we are under attack by advocates for Project 2025, which seeks to undermine our government, as opposed to addressing the problems that are growing worse.
I keep asking why Oklahoma can’t do a better job of building on our strengths, as opposed to ramping up the right wing’s politics of destruction.
But, that bring us back to Oklahoma City’s success in attracting talent. It is the combination of our neighborliness, and increasing diversity and cosmopolitanism, propelled, for instance, by the arts and places for community activities.Those qualities and opportunities didn’t just appear on their own. Investments like MAPS and MAPS for Kids were essential to the metro area's quality of life.
So, I hope a new wave of headlines will come to the state because we learned from Oklahoma City and started building on our strengths, rejected the politics of retribution, and invested accordingly.
John Thompson is a former award-winning teacher at the former John Marshall High School and Centennial Mid-High School.
