4 Oklahoma cities in Fortune's 100 Best Places to Live 2010

[Spartan]

35 Edmond
67 Stillwater (huh)
70 Norman
81 Broken Arrow

I am surprised Norman is ranked THAT low. Edmond has risen in the polls, though. It seems like Oklahoma has way more cities in the Top 100 this year than average, especially for a state with 3.5 mil people. Peer states seem to have 1 or none.

[Midtowner]

We have more suburban concentrations of wealth I guess. Is that really a great thing?

[Spartan]

Well, depends on what you value. This ranking is obviously much more intended for families than for creative class, and yeah, just about the only state with more ranked cities per capita on here is probably Utah and North Dakota. Considering that a handful of the cities on this list aren't really suburban, and Norman and Stillwater are more classified as college towns, or podunk backwaters in the case of Stillwater--it doesn't necessarily speak to the state of suburbs in Oklahoma. Edmond is always a given, and BA is even though BA is overrated and really not any nicer than Moore.

[SOONER8693]

The Kansas City metro area has 4 all by itself, and all in the top 50. Two on the Kansas side and 2 on the MO side.

[onthestrip]

Considering that a handful of the cities on this list aren't really suburban, and Norman and Stillwater are more classified as college towns, or podunk backwaters in the case of Stillwater--

Podunk backwaters, oh my god that is hilarious... Lame, unfunny humor aside, this does seem to be more of a "best place to raise a family" list, and its not surprising at all to see Stillwater make it. Ive heard many residents, former and current, comment on how Stillwater is a great family city. And I totally agree.

[pickles]

podunk backwaters in the case of Stillwater

Unless things have changed, I recall Stillwater being the state's most educated and ethnically diverse city, per capita. With low crime rates, good public shools and affordable housing, it seems an unsurprising addition to this list.

You may have spent too much time on sports-oriented message boards, sharing time with people who have never ventured 20 miles beyond the city limits of Ardmore, Ada or Clinton.

[adaniel]

podunk backwaters in the case of Stillwater

Unless things have changed, I recall Stillwater being the state's most educated and ethnically diverse city, per capita. With low crime rates, good public shools and affordable housing, it seems an unsurprising addition to this list.

You may have spent too much time on sports-oriented message boards, sharing time with people who have never ventured 20 miles beyond the city limits of Ardmore, Ada or Clinton.

Whoa there...don't get me wrong, I actually like Stillwater and I'm an OU grad. Its probably only one of a couple of small towns I would actually live in OK. But ethnically diverse? Isn't Stillwater like 83% white (vs. 60 ish percent for the US)? And highly educated? Edmond has both Norman and Stillwater beat in terms of people with their bachelors, and it would surprise me if one of the smaller Tulsa suburbs is higher than that.

Like I said Stillwater is a neat little town, but its still in Payne County. Lets not get carried away.

[Bunty]

Whoa there...don't get me wrong, I actually like Stillwater and I'm an OU grad. Its probably only one of a couple of small towns I would actually live in OK. But ethnically diverse? Isn't Stillwater like 83% white (vs. 60 ish percent for the US)? And highly educated? Edmond has both Norman and Stillwater beat in terms of people with their bachelors, and it would surprise me if one of the smaller Tulsa suburbs is higher than that.

If you haven't already seen it, there's a lot of stuff on Stillwater at: http://www.city-data.com/city/Stillwater-Oklahoma.html

[pickles]

And highly educated? Edmond has both Norman and Stillwater beat in terms of people with their bachelors, and it would surprise me if one of the smaller Tulsa suburbs is higher than that.

Like I said Stillwater is a neat little town, but its still in Payne County. Lets not get carried away.

You are incorrect. 48 percent of Stillwater residents hold at least a bachelors degree. 47.8 percent of Edmond residents can claim the same, while Norman is currently at 39.8 percent.

[mikesimpsons82]

or podunk backwaters in the case of Stillwater

Gotta love when the uneducated people chime in. Always makes for good entertainment. Does your boss know you left your fry station?

[Bunty]

Gotta love when the uneducated people chime in. Always makes for good entertainment. Does your boss know you left your fry station?

Uneducated? I thought it was about supposedly well educated people who think they are as well learned as they need to be in order to know how to look down upon Stillwater.

[Oil Capital]

Well, depends on what you value. This ranking is obviously much more intended for families than for creative class, and yeah, just about the only state with more ranked cities per capita on here is probably Utah and North Dakota.

and Connecticut and Idaho.

To be clear, this list purports only to be the 100 best places to live among small cities.

[GoThunder]

I am a student at OSU and was quite surprised to see Stillwater on the list. Great school, not a top 100 town...

[Bunty]

I am a student at OSU and was quite surprised to see Stillwater on the list. Great school, not a top 100 town...

Why? Because there's no cool place to shop and eat? No enclosing shopping mall, you know. And because Boomer Lake is a pretty sorry excuse for a city park?

[Bunty]

What makes Norman people and fans madder? That Stillwater outranks it by a bit, or that Edmond outranked it by a bunch? Maybe Money Magazine evaluators never heard of "Don't Edmond my Norman."

Interesting that Money put the Stillwater population at 53,000. Stillwater Mayor Bates placed it at 51,000 a couple or so months ago.

[venture]

I love you people who obsess over these polls. Always a fun read. :-P

[Andrew4OU]

Uhmm. How did Norman drop from #6 all the way to #70 in just two years?

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...PL4052500.html

[skyrick]

Uhmm. How did Norman drop from #6 all the way to #70 in just two years?

Multiple BCS chokes?

[Andrew4OU]

Multiple BCS chokes?

Right! By multiple you mean one, seeing there were only two years in between 2008 and 2010.

[okcpulse]

35 Edmond
67 Stillwater (huh)
70 Norman
81 Broken Arrow

I am surprised Norman is ranked THAT low. Edmond has risen in the polls, though. It seems like Oklahoma has way more cities in the Top 100 this year than average, especially for a state with 3.5 mil people. Peer states seem to have 1 or none.

3.7 million live in Oklahoma. Sorry, but I have to nit-pick when it comes to listing the latest and greatest stats

[OKCisOK4me]

3.7 million live in Oklahoma. Sorry, but I have to nit-pick when it comes to listing the latest and greatest stats

Is this the 2000 census count or a rough estimate?

[okcpulse]

Is this the 2000 census count or a rough estimate?

2000 Census count was 3,450,654. In 2009, the estimate was 3,687,000+. I'm sure by July 2010 that has surpassed 3.7 million. The actual census counts for 2010 won't be released until next year, so right now the best source of data is the annual July estimate released from the U.S. Census Bureau.

[BG918]

Is Stillwater more connected to Tulsa or OKC? They are about the same distance apart (64 miles from downtown Stillwater to downtown OKC vs. 62 miles to downtown Tulsa) but I've always felt Tulsa seemed more connected to OSU with their Tulsa campus and OSU Medical Center.

Norman is a great city, I wonder why they dropped so much from just a couple years ago.

[venture]

Norman is a great city, I wonder why they dropped so much from just a couple years ago.

Probably didn't pay enough to the sponsors of the poll. :-P

[Spartan]

I have nothing against Stillwater, one of my favorite little local stores in the state is the Stillwater Summit Company. They have a very cool scene up there. But let's get real...it's the most isolated Big 12 college town and the only one that doesn't even have a small airport with commercial service, and Stillwater is not Edmond or Jenks..

Apparently they have Wal-Mart, I'm not sure what else they have. I'll bet the college is a good demographic for retailers though. Does anyone know if Stillwater capitalizes on the knowledge-based demographic for tech industries like Norman?