The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Cherokee County, OK
Cherokee County is home to 47,900 residents and includes Tahlequah and Hulbert · Updated November 2026
Is Cherokee County, OK safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Cherokee County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 78% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A-; see the map and the safest and least safe places below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 931 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
78% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Cherokee County as a whole, and 22% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Cherokee County scores 931.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Cherokee County, OK at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Cherokee County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Cherokee County
Arsons run high, though crime overall runs low. Crime overall in Cherokee County runs 22% below the US rate, but arsons run at about triple that rate: 0.41 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.12 nationally.
Car thefts happen at homes far more often than nationally. In Cherokee County, 67% of reported car thefts happen at homes, against 33% nationally.
How places in Cherokee County compare
Every part of Cherokee County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Cherokee County run from A+ to A-; 99% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in Cherokee County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Hulbert area has the least crime and the Tahlequah area the most.
Is crime going up in Cherokee County?
Since 2019, reported violent crime in Cherokee County is up 65% and property crime is down 42%. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 2.0 to 3.3 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 26 to 15 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime rose 24% and property crime rose 33%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
Cherokee CountyUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments across Cherokee County. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Cherokee County
Violent, US
Property, Cherokee County
Property, US
2016
+28%
+4%
-18%
+15%
2017
+47%
+4%
+18%
+12%
2018
+31%
+0%
-4%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
+38%
+4%
-20%
-8%
2021
+30%
+6%
-34%
-10%
2022
-2%
+5%
-45%
-6%
2023
+32%
+2%
-56%
-7%
2024
+65%
-4%
-42%
-15%
Crime rates and types in Cherokee County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Cherokee County has about 29 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 22% less than the US as a whole and 32% less than Oklahoma.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in Cherokee County, about 39% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Cherokee County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Cherokee County, 2022 to 2024.
In Cherokee County, 76% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 39% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (76%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Homes (67%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Homes (39%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Homes (55%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (70%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Cherokee County compares with nearby counties
Cherokee County has less crime than 7 of its 10 nearest counties.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Cherokee County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Cherokee County has more crime than 56% of them.
Night lighting, jobs and walkability in Cherokee County
Two things set Cherokee County apart: it has 36% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and 28 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and vandalism, and they run low here.
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.36% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 91% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.28 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 91% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 93% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (7 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 90% of Americans
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.11.1% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 90% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Cherokee County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 79% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Cherokee County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Cherokee County about $841 a year per household, 30% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $45 million a year, or $945 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$2.7 million
$57
Rape
$740,000
$15
Robbery
$220,000
$5
Assault
$5.5 million
$116
Burglary
$760,000
$16
Theft
$2.7 million
$56
Vehicle theft
$1.0 million
$21
Arson
$470,000
$10
Vandalism
$990,000
$21
Total
$15 million
$316
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Cherokee County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Cherokee County, OK average a SchoolGrade of D+: 22% of students test proficient, against 21% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Cherokee County on SchoolGrade
