Town · Rogers County, Oklahoma

Chelsea, Oklahoma

Chelsea is a town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, part of the Tulsa, OK metro area. It has 1,880 residents. Chelsea, Oklahoma has a quality-of-life score of 10 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,057 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Oklahoma it ranks #164 of 237 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), home price to income ratio (low) and rent-burdened households (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), firearm deaths (high) and adult smoking (high).

10Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,057 of 15,651 cities and towns
Oklahoma: #164 of 237 in OK
Population: 1,880 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,057.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 4013700

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety39#9,547/15,637
Economy13#13,577/15,631
Housing99#145/14,977
Health4#14,948/15,609
Healthcare23#12,003/15,650
Environment4#14,857/15,453
Education22#12,179/15,649
Infrastructure8#14,398/15,650
Community22#12,233/15,651
Leisure & amenities8#14,406/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chelsea, Oklahoma ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Rogers County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Rent as share of income · low22.9%
93/100Oklahoma 28.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
89/100Oklahoma 3.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent-burdened households · low38.8%
89/100Oklahoma 46.3%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Hospital quality rating · high4.0
80/100Oklahoma 3.3United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRogers County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low134 min
78/100Oklahoma 122 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRogers County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.63%
77/100Oklahoma 0.79%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high55.9 /100k
0/100Oklahoma 19.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRogers County value
Firearm deaths · high47.9 /100k
1/100Oklahoma 17.6 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRogers County value
Adult smoking · high27.2%
1/100Oklahoma 18.6%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Adult obesity · high47.3%
2/100Oklahoma 40.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Drug overdose deaths · high44.9 /100k
2/100Oklahoma 19.8 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRogers County value
Frequent mental distress · high23.1%
2/100Oklahoma 19.3%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
2,053 (2015-2019) → 1,880 (2020-2024)
−8.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
1.0 /1k (2021) → 3.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+280%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
58.9% (2015-2019) → 85.1% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
47.3% (2015-2019) → 23.5% (2020-2024)
−24 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
29.6% (2015-2019) → 19.1% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$36,375 (2015-2019) → $50,875 (2020-2024)
+40%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Chelsea, Oklahoma improved on 5 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved5

Child poverty−24 points47.3% → 23.5%
Broadband+26 points58.9% → 85.1%
Poverty−10 points29.6% → 19.1%
Uninsured−6.3 points27.3% → 21.0%
Household income+40%$36,375 → $50,875

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Chelsea, Oklahoma between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.3 min2015-2019	29.7 min2020-2024	+5.4 min	Within the margin of error	9%
Bachelor's degree or higher	13.0%2015-2019	8.8%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Broadband subscriptions	58.9%2015-2019	85.1%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	96%
Child poverty rate	47.3%2015-2019	23.5%2020-2024	−24 points	Improved	96%
Effective property tax rate	0.63%2015-2019	0.63%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	17%
High school diploma or higher	87.1%2015-2019	82.9%2020-2024	−4.2 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4802015-2019	0.4162020-2024	−0.064	Within the margin of error	89%
Median household income	$36,3752015-2019	$50,8752020-2024	+40%	Improved	74%
Poverty rate	29.6%2015-2019	19.1%2020-2024	−10 points	Improved	94%
Rent as share of income	26.9%2015-2019	22.9%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Rent-burdened households	46.7%2015-2019	38.7%2020-2024	−7.9 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Unemployment rate	10.6%2015-2019	10.7%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	27.3%2015-2019	21.0%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Improved	90%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Chelsea, Oklahoma five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chelsea, Oklahoma in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Chelsea, Oklahoma itself moved +4.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,880 residents (±210)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

746 households (±69)

Chelsea, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Under $25k28%207
$25k–50k20%152
$50k–75k26%192

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

746 households (±69)

Chelsea, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Own56%419
Rent44%327

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

793 workers (±110)

Chelsea, Oklahoma
Oklahoma share

Drive alone76%602
Carpool14%†108
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Tulsa, OK

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Rogers County, the county holding most of Chelsea's residents.

Rogers County has 1,953 employer establishments, 195 for every 10,000 residents (0.79× the US rate of 248; 0.82× Oklahoma's), with 31,171 paid employees at an average annual pay of $61,409. The Census Bureau also counts 8,115 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,953; 8,115 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 195; US 248 · Oklahoma 237
Paid employees: 31,171
Average annual pay: $61,409; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Rogers County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	196	19.6	1.26×More than typical	1,656	$56,247	766
Ambulatory health care services	137	13.7	0.66×Fewer than typical	1,288	$56,703	271
Lessors of real estate	112	11.2	0.91×About typical	290	$38,238	841
Restaurants and other eating places	103	10.3	0.56×Fewer than typical	2,077	$17,263	36
Building equipment contractors	84	8.4	1.39×More than typical	434	$52,465	159
Religious organizations	73	7.3	1.31×More than typical	523	$19,755	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	60	6	0.89×About typical	215	$42,558	528
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	58	5.8	3.63×More than typical	2,987	$73,056	45
Real estate agents and brokers	57	5.7	1.17×About typical	79	$39,443	283
Construction of buildings	54	5.4	0.71×Fewer than typical	185	$56,059	336
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	50	5	1.51×More than typical	260	$49,704	79
Limited-service restaurants	48	4.8	0.60×Fewer than typical	1,112	$16,408	14

Rank places for an industry Open Rogers County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 100,149 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $9,096 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chelsea, Oklahoma: $4.84 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $9,096
Per resident: $4.84; US $1,994
Sole-source: 4.2%; US 30%
Single offer: 4.7%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Federal Aviation Administration$8,71596%
Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement$3814.2%

Top recipients

BARRY WILLIAMS ELECTRIC INC$8,01088%
O & L RESOURCES INC$8569.4%
ROGERS ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION INC$3814.2%
CNI ADVANTAGE, LLC-$1510.0%

Spending by fiscal year

83.1FY2017
1.7KFY2018
847.1FY2019
1.1KFY2021
1.9KFY2022
13.4KFY2023
31KFY2024
-1.3KFY2025

Top industries (NAICS)

Building equipment contractors · 2382$7,85986%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$8569.4%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$3814.2%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Chelsea, Oklahoma, so they do not add up across cities.

Chelsea, Oklahoma's figures are part of those of Rogers County, OK ($6.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Chelsea is mostly in Rogers County.

See federal money in Rogers County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Chelsea, Oklahoma is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Rogers County50100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Tulsa, OK42

Other cities and towns in Rogers County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4013700

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends