Miller, Oklahoma City: a neighborhood report

Miller covers about 160 acres on Oklahoma City’s near northwest side. It runs from NW 10th Street north to NW 16th, and from May Avenue east to Villa Avenue. Its ZIP code is 73107. Nearly all of it is a historic district on the National Register, full of houses from the 1910s to the 1940s. The state fairgrounds sit just across the corner of May and NW 10th.

Can you get around on foot?

Miller was laid out in the streetcar era, and it kept the short blocks and alleys that came with it. The Linwood streetcar line once ran down the median of NW 12th Street. On the EPA’s National Walkability Index, last updated in 2021, both halves of Miller score above average. The index looks at how connected the streets are, how close transit is, and how homes and jobs mix. It doesn’t measure sidewalks or crossings.

The streetcar is long gone, so transit today means the bus. EMBARK Route 38 runs along NW 10th Street toward downtown. Groceries usually mean a short drive. The nearest supermarkets are a Walmart Neighborhood Market on NW 23rd Street, 1.5 miles by road, and a Homeland on NW 18th, about 2.

How old are the houses?

Old. Census estimates for 2020-24 put the typical home’s construction in the mid-1940s, and about four in ten went up before 1940. About three in four are detached houses. Two styles lead: Tudor Revival cottages with steep gables, and Craftsman bungalows with deep porches. Colonial Revival, Mission and Neo-Classical houses are scattered among them.

A house this age needs a careful look. Have the wiring checked, since the oldest houses may still have original circuits. Pay for a camera inspection of the sewer line to the street. For any house built before 1978, federal law requires the seller to disclose known lead paint. The city’s Lead Safe OKC program also asks owners to report what their water service line is made of.

The ground is kinder. The federal soil survey maps Miller on Teller soils mixed with disturbed urban ground. The Teller soils rate low for shrinking and swelling, and “not limited” for houses with basements.

A short history

Luke Ellison got the land in 1890, and a Queen Anne farmhouse went up in 1893. It still stands, along with its barn. George Miller bought the land in 1901 and platted it in 1905. In 1907, two months before statehood, he replatted it as the Miller Boulevard Addition. That plat set aside a strip down Miller Boulevard for a railway that was never built. In 1915 the Millers built a Neo-Classical house on 11 acres in the southwest corner. Neighbors still call it the Miller Mansion. The neighborhood association’s history says Linn, Ross and May were reportedly named for members of the family.

Changing a house: the rules

Miller’s Boulevard Historic District joined the National Register on December 4, 2014. A National Register listing doesn’t add design review on its own. In the city’s Historic Preservation zoning districts, such as Heritage Hills or Mesta Park, exterior work needs a Certificate of Appropriateness. Miller isn’t one of them, so ordinary building permits apply.

Most of Miller is zoned R-2, where the city allows a two-family home by right. A strip along May Avenue is R-1. Since June 2025 the city has allowed one backyard home, an accessory dwelling, per lot across much of its urban core. Miller is inside that area. A backyard home needs its own parking only if it’s over 600 square feet or the street is narrower than 26 feet.

Weather, ground and insurance

Flooding isn’t the worry here. FEMA maps Miller in Zone X, its lowest-risk category, at every point we checked. No high-risk flood zone falls inside the neighborhood.

Tornadoes are the risk to plan for. Ask whether the house has a storm shelter or safe room. The state’s SoonerSafe program has paid rebates toward safe rooms in past years. Its registration opens when the state announces a round.

Oklahoma also has earthquakes. The state recorded 903 of magnitude 3 or more in 2015, most linked to oil-field wastewater disposal. After regulators stepped in, the count fell steadily from 2016. The Oklahoma Geological Survey’s catalog lists 6 in 2025. A standard homeowners policy doesn’t cover earthquake damage, so ask about a separate policy.

The fairgrounds next door

The State Fair of Oklahoma fills the fairgrounds each September. In June 2025 the city opened the $126 million OG&E Coliseum there. It seats more than 7,000 and replaced the old Jim Norick Arena. It hosts national horse shows as well as the fair. Expect more traffic on May Avenue and NW 10th Street on big event days.

What locals do for fun

The neighborhood association keeps a full calendar. Its Miller in May home tour ran again on May 17, 2026, after an art auction the night before. June brought a neighborhood-wide garage sale, and Halloween night a gathering at the gazebo. The Mantels & Trees holiday home tour, in its 17th year, is set for December 12.

The Plaza District, 1.5 miles east by road on NW 16th Street, holds a block party every month, LIVE on the Plaza. From November through January it moves to second Sundays. The 27th annual Plaza District Festival and its mural expo were on September 26, 2026.

Downtown is about 4 miles away, with Thunder games at the Paycom Center and concerts at Scissortail Park. Lake Hefner, with sailing and a trail around the shore, is about 7.5 miles. The Oklahoma City Zoo is about 9.

Getting around

Interstate 44 passes under a mile west of May Avenue. By road from the middle of Miller:

• Downtown Oklahoma City, about 4 miles, roughly 10 minutes.
• Penn Square Mall, about 4 miles.
• OKC Will Rogers International Airport, about 11 miles, roughly 20 minutes.
• St. Anthony Hospital, about 3 miles; Integris Baptist Medical Center, about 5.
• Tulsa, about 107 miles.

For bigger shopping, a Sam’s Club and a Target sit on North May Avenue, 2.5 and 3.3 miles away. The nearest Walmart Supercenter is about 4.6 miles, and the nearest Costco about 14.

Government, services and taxes

• Government: the City of Oklahoma City, in Ward 6 of the city council. The Miller Neighborhood Association meets on the first Monday of most months.
• Utilities: OG&E for electricity and Oklahoma Natural Gas for gas. The city supplies water and sewer.
• Trash: city maps put trash and recycling pickup on Thursdays, and bulky waste on the third Monday of the month.
• Schools: Oklahoma City Public Schools.
• Property tax: the 2025 rate here is 122.90 mills. Homes are assessed at 11% of market value, and a homestead exemption takes $1,000 off that. On a $250,000 home, that’s about $3,260 a year. For a homestead, the taxable value can rise no more than 3% a year.
• Climate: at the airport, about 36 inches of precipitation and 7 inches of snow a year. The hardiness zone is 7b.

Facts on this page were checked against city, county, state and federal sources on November 2, 2026.

Explore it yourself

The map over Miller opens with walkability, tornado risk and grocery access already on. Add whatever else matters to you.