Oklahoma City By-The-Numbers...

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City by the numbers

Oklahoma City is one of 14 cities nationwide that experienced a growth of 100,000+ in the last decade.

Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, attributes much of the growth to Oklahoma City's investment in itself, diversification of jobs and becoming more attractive for young folks.

The cities with the largest population increases — listed in alphabetical order by state, not by the size of the increase — were:

        Phoenix

        Los Angeles

        Denver

        Jacksonville, Fla.

        New York

        Charlotte, N.C.

        Columbus, Ohio

        Oklahoma City

        Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, Texas

        Seattle

OKC's population increased from 579,999 in 2010 to 681,054 in the newest census data – that's an increase of 101,055!

                       

Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area 1,425,695 (+172,708 / 13.8%)

Oklahoma - total population (2020): 3,959,353.  Oklahoma saw a population increase of 208,000, bringing the state's total population to just under 4 million and making it the 28th most populous state.

United States Census:  https://www.census.gov/en.html

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City (+17.42%) moved up 9 places from 2010 to be the 22nd largest city in the US, and was the 8th fastest growing city of the 50 largest cities. Faster growing cities were Fort Worth (+24.0%), Austin (+21.7%), Seattle (+21.1%), Charlotte (+19.6%), Denver (+19.2%), Omaha (+18.9%), and Atlanta (+18.7%).

    689,447    601,222 - 21    Nashville, Tennessee            

    681,054    579,999 - 22    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma    
    678,815    649,121 - 23    El Paso, Texas                    
    675,647    617,594 - 24    Boston, Massachusetts            
    652,503    583,776 - 25    Portland, Oregon                    
    641,903    583,756 - 26    Las Vegas, Nevada                
    639,111    713,777 - 27    Detroit, Michigan                        
    633,104    646,889 - 28    Memphis, Tennessee            
    633,045    597,337 - 29    Louisville, Kentucky            
    585,708    620,961 - 30    Baltimore, Maryland            
    577,222    594,833 - 31    Milwaukee, Wisconsin    


Oklahoma City jumped ahead of El Paso, Boston, Portland, Las Vegas, Detroit, Memphis, Louisville, Baltimore & Milwaukee:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population

[Laramie]

                                   METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA


Look at the pattern (cities with 50,000 +) as to why some of these metropolitan areas will continue with growth:

41.  Milwaukee [1,574,731 +1.21%]
    Milwaukee (577,222)
    Racine (196,219)
    Waukesha (72,299)
    West Allis (60,850)

42.  Oklahoma City [1,425,695 +13.78%]
    Oklahoma City (681,054)
    Norman (128,026)
    Edmond (96,376)
    Moore (63,261)
    Midwest City (57,849)

43.  Raleigh [1,413,982 +25.08%]
    Raleigh (467,665)
    Cary (174,762)
    Apex (70,561)  
   
47.  Salt Lake City [1,222,540  +15.63%]
    Salt Lake City (199,723)
    West Valley City (133,780 )
    West Jordan (118,220)
    Provo (116,594)
    Sandy (95,666)
    Taylorsville (59,405)

50.  Birmingham [1,115,289]
    Birmingham (200,733)
    Hoover (86,270)

2020 MSA  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_statistical_areas

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City is now the 22nd-LARGEST CITY in the United States, having been 31st in the 2010 Census. Since 2010, OKC jumped Milwaukee, Baltimore, Louisville, Memphis, Detroit, Las Vegas, Portland, Boston & El Paso. Congrats!"

             
Scissortail Park, OKC

The 17.4% leap in Oklahoma City's population over the past decade proves the city is "doing things right," Mayor David Holt said Monday.

"Population growth is the ultimate measure of a city's actions. Beyond that benefit, the other benefit is that success tends to beget success," Holt said. "Once you're making this kind of progress, it snowballs."

The momentum will bring more entrepreneurs, more employers, more events and more retail to the city, he said.

Census 2020 numbers released last week show Oklahoma City is the sixth fastest-growing city among the top 25 largest cities by population. Its 101,055 new residents account for 49% of the entire state growth since 2010.

"The challenge is obviously infrastructure," Holt said. "With the investments in the 2017 bond, the funding for additional police officers, MAPS 4, and the creation of the RTA (Regional Transportation Authority of Central Oklahoma), hopefully we're staying ahead of it. But I think that's something our community will have to continue monitoring."

Oklahoma City now has 681,054 residents and is one of only 14 American cities that gained at least 100,000 people.

"One is not usually surprised by Census data, but today's news was a bombshell for those of us who follow this topic. The official 2020 count exceeded the most recent estimate by 18,740 people," Holt tweeted Thursday.

The next day he followed with this tweet: "Census analysis continues & I've got a doozy... Oklahoma City is now the 22nd-LARGEST CITY in the United States, having been 31st in the 2010 Census. Since 2010, OKC jumped Milwaukee, Baltimore, Louisville, Memphis, Detroit, Las Vegas, Portland, Boston & El Paso. Congrats!"

Not only is Oklahoma City a place where people want to live, it's becoming a destination for visitors.

A new SmartAsset study compared 32 of the largest U.S. cities with at least 100 hotels to identify the best cities to host a conference as industries are returning to in-person formats following 18 months of virtual gatherings. The study analyzed 10 metrics in four categories: hotels and dining, affordability, travel accessibility, and safety and COVID-19 impact.

Oklahoma City came in sixth best, due in large part to its average room rate (about $139 per night) and the lowest average cost of a three-course dinner for two ($45, which is tied with Tucson, Arizona).

The new $288 million Oklahoma City Convention Center is another plus.

"I think just being a fast-growing city leaping into the top 25 demonstrates this is a place worth paying attention to and visiting," Holt said. "Thirty years ago, a group of people being told they were going to a convention in Oklahoma City likely would have groaned. Now, they're intrigued and want to see what all the fuss is about."

Convention Center General Manager Al Rojas said, "Oklahoma City is in that sweet spot. It's all put together for meeting planners."

Critical to attracting national conferences is getting the word out that Oklahoma City is not what it was 10 years ago, Rojas said.

Bookings for conferences continue to "ebb and flow, but we're starting to get a good pace," he said. Concerns about the COVID-19 spike caused Epic Charter Schools to postpone an event scheduled earlier this month, he said.

The Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association opened its three-day conference Monday. OIGA officials expect the event will draw nearly 3,000 vendors, visitors and guest speakers to downtown Oklahoma City.

The annual Oklahoma State School Boards Association conference will be Aug. 26-30. It usually draws about 2,000 attendees, Communications Director Christy Watson said. It's too early to tell if the growing number of COVID-19 cases will affect attendance, she said.

September bookings also are for Oklahoma organizations, but in October the National Association of Royalty Owners has scheduled a four-day convention and the facility will host USA Softball's annual council meeting for six days.

Rojas said the Convention Center could benefit from large organizations that normally draw 20,000 or 30,000 people but are opting to break that down into several regional meetings.

Staffing continues to be a struggle after hospitality workers were "displaced (due to the pandemic) in a very painful way," Rojas said. "It was already a very tough job. ... Getting people to come back is hard."--Published: Tuesday, August 17, 2021 By: Kathryn McNutt Source: The Journal Record

1960

1970

2008 Oklahoma City acquires an NBA franchise thru relocation
2010
Devon Energy Tower - Construction began October 6, 2009, and was completed in October 2012

BOK Park Plaza, construction began 2015; completed in 2018. At 433 ft., it's OKC's the 6th tallest.
2020

[Laramie]

                              

    Oklahoma City, A Catalyst for Growth

Tracking Oklahoma City's city population since 1940:

1940: 204,424
         1950: 243,504 19.1%
         1960: 324,253 33.2%
         1970: 366,481 13.0%
         1980: 403,213 10.0%
         1990: 444,605 10.3%
1993 MAPS Sales Tax Initiative passed

1998 Bricktown Ballpark opened
         2000: 507,579 14.2%

Ford Center opened in 2002
         2010: 579,999 14.3%
         2020: 681,054 17.4%

Slogans:

Arrow to Atoms

TP's to Towers

The Modern Frontier

[Laramie]

About 497,000 people (73% of OKC's 681,000) live in the shaded area, according to the 2020 Census, which is about 137 square miles (23% of OKC's 606.5 sq miles). That's a density of just over 3,600/sq mile.

          Credit KayneMo, regular poster on OKCTalk.com

[Red Arrow]

About 497,000 people (73% of OKC's 681,000) live in the shaded area, according to the 2020 Census, which is about 137 square miles (23% of OKC's 606.5 sq miles). That's a density of just over 3,600/sq mile.

NYC: https://www.topviewnyc.com/packages/the-population-density-of-new-york-city#:~:text=The%20population%20density%20of%20NYC%20%2827%2C013%20people%20per,places%20internationally%2C%20such%20as%20Paris%20and%20Hong%20Kong.

Several places: https://opendatanetwork.com/entity/1600000US5157000-1600000US2404000-1600000US4260000-1600000US1714000/Norfolk_VA-Baltimore_MD-Philadelphia_PA-Chicago_IL/geographic.population.density?year=2018&ref=related-peer

[Laramie]

Red Arrow:

Good density numbers on cities like New York and Chicago; personally, don't care for that much density where 10k or more per square mile occupy a city--thanks for sharing.

You will experience similar pockets of growth in urban Tulsa as the development trends continue to move in that direction.  New housing trends continue as you witness what's occurring in Tulsa--your growth is much more predictable.  Your city is attractive, CLEAN & beautiful...

What we see happening in OKC totally took our city leaders by surprise.  We have $70 million in MAPS 4 initiative for beautification (may scratch the surface); with pockets of ugly areas of our city that begs for attention.

Oklahoma City has areas where there are pockets of great density:

         9,175/sq mi (bounded by N May, NW 122nd, Indian Creek Blvd, & Tealwood Dr)
         9,005/sq mi (Memorial, N May, Tealwood, NW 122nd, Stratford Dr, & Highland Park Blvd)
         8,700/sq mi (SW 44th, S May, SW 59th, S Villa)

Oklahoma City limits encompasses 620.34 square miles. land & water (1,606.7 km).

Recall visiting an ole college friend in East St. Louis, IL., back in 1998.  Speaking of density, this area was about as crowded as any area I've visited in the United States.

Right now, our population growth is manageable; housing developments need to catch up with the current population.  Affordable housing is in great demand for OKC.  We have a long road ahead to get OKC looking as attractive & clean as Tulsa.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City & Tulsa areas are the major source of the state's growth.

Census data release include:

Oklahoma saw a population increase of 208,000, bringing the state's total population to just under 4 million and making it the 28th most
    populous state.

The U.S. population grew 7.4% between the 2010 and 2020 census, compared to 5.5% in Oklahoma.

Of Oklahoma's five most populous counties, only Comanche County lost population in the past decade. Comanche County lost 2,973 residents,
   down about 2.4%.

   Oklahoma County gained 77,659 people, rising from 718,633 to 796,292, a 10.8% change.

   Tulsa County gained 65,876 people, from 603,403 then to 669,279, a 10.9% change.

   Cleveland County gained 39,773 people, from 255,755 in 2020 to 295,528 now, a 15.6% change.

   Canadian County gained 38,864 people, 115,541 to 154,405, a 33.6% change.

Source:  Jana Hayes - Oklahoman, Published 501 a.m. CT August 13, 2021

[Laramie]

Notable takeaways from City, County, Metro & State Census data release include:

                                 

Oklahoma saw a population increase of 208,000 5.5%, bringing the state's total population to just under 4 million and making it the 28th most populous state.

Oklahoma City statistical metropolitan area, which includes seven central Oklahoma counties, grew by 172,708, a 13.8% change. Much of that growth occurred in Canadian County, which saw a 33.6% population increase and was 27th in percentage growth out of more than 3,000 American counties.

Oklahoma City is one of only 14 American cities where the population grew by more than 100,000 between 2010 and 2020, as almost two-thirds of Oklahoma counties were losing residents.

Oklahoma County gained 77,659 people, rising from 718,633 to 796,292, a 10.8% change.

Oklahoma City added 101,055 people since the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.

             208,000 - 5.5% - State of Oklahoma - 3,959,353
         172,708 - 13.8% - Oklahoma City MSA - 1,425,695
         101,055 - 17.0% - Oklahoma City - 681,054 OKC, one of 14 U.S. cities where the population grew by more than 100,000
         77,659 - 10.8%  - Oklahoma County - 796,292

[Laramie]

Around 1,800 Afghan refugees could potentially arrive in Oklahoma: https://okcfox.com/news/local/around-1800-afghan-refugees-could-potentially-arrive-in-oklahoma

"About 1,800 give or take will be settled in the state of Oklahoma with a good possibility of about 1,000 coming to Oklahoma City and about 800 to the Tulsa area,"

Good hard working Afghans and families are welcome to our city and state.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Good hard working Afghans and families are welcome to our city and state.

Wanna take any bets on that?  We still suffer from Deranged Trump Syndrome about Muslims....

[Laramie]

Wanna take any bets on that?  We still suffer from Deranged Trump Syndrome about Muslims....

We're preaching to same choir.

That's why I want to go on record for welcoming Afghans to our state.  OKC & Tulsa will benefit in the long term once you turn the Afghans into
productive working citizens who contribute to the economy.

[Red Arrow]

We're preaching to same choir.

That's why I want to go on record for welcoming Afghans to our state.  OKC & Tulsa will benefit in the long term once you turn the Afghans into
productive working citizens who contribute to the economy.

These Afghans will be the ones that don't like the Taliban any more than we do.

[swake]

I hope more come so that we get a critical mass for a healthy local Afghan community.