Oklahoma County, Oklahoma: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 00:58, 1 May 2025

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Oklahoma County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 796,292,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> making it the most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Oklahoma City,<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> the state capital and largest city. Oklahoma County is at the heart of the Oklahoma City metropolitan statistical area. Oklahoma County is one of seven counties in the United States to share the same name as the state it is located in (the other six being Arkansas County, Hawaii County, Idaho County, Iowa County, New York County (Manhattan), and Utah County), and the only one of the seven to contain the state capital, and one of two to contain a city of the same name as well.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

Template:See also The area that would someday be called Oklahoma County was originally inhabited by members of the indigenous nations of the Southern Plains, but by the 1830s the land would become part of the territory assigned to the Seminoles and Creeks after their removal from their ancestral lands in the Southeastern USA.<ref name=":1" />

As a result of the Reconstruction era treaties signed between the US government and the Seminole and Creek nations in 1866, the land was taken from tribal jurisdiction but not assigned to other tribal governments, which in time led it to be called the Unassigned Lands. In 1889, the US federal government held a land run for the Unassigned lands, which led to the rapid settlement of the area.<ref>"Unassigned lands" Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society. Accessed August 10, 2021.</ref>

By 1890, Oklahoma County was called "County Two" and was one of seven counties established by the Organic Act of 1890.<ref name=":1">Wilson, Linda D. "Oklahoma County," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2015.</ref>

County business initially took place in a building at the intersection of California Avenue and Robinson Street until the construction of the first Oklahoma County Courthouse at 520 West Main Street in the 1900s. In 1937, the county government was moved to a building at 321 Park Avenue, which now serves only as the county courthouse.<ref>"A Brief History of Oklahoma County Government." OklahomaCounty.org. Accessed September 17, 2009.</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (1.3%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Transit

Embark
Oklahoma City Streetcar
Flixbus
Greyhound Lines
Amtrak (Heartland Flyer) at Oklahoma City station

Major highways

Adjacent counties

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Logan County (north)
Lincoln County (east)
Pottawatomie County (southeast)
Cleveland County (south)
Canadian County (west)
Kingfisher County (northwest)

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National protected area

Oklahoma City National Memorial

Demographics

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According to the 2010 U.S. census, there were 718,633 people, 277,615 households, and 172,572 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 319,828 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 64.6% White, 15.4% Black or African American, 3.5% Native American, 3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.1% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races; 15.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Throughout its population, 12.4% were of German, 12.3% Mexican, 10.1% Irish, 7.9% English, and 7.7% American ancestries according to the 2010 census. 84.4% spoke English and 11.5% Spanish as their first language.<ref>Unknown Template:Dead link Template:Cbignore</ref>

At the 2020 U.S. census, its population increased to 796,292, with a 2022-estimate at 802,559. Racially, the 2021 American Community Survey estimated 54.5% were non-Hispanic white, 15.8% Black or African American, 4.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.8% multiracial, and 18.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race. An estimated 10.2% of its population between 2017 and 2021 were foreign-born residents.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2010, there were 277,615 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.26. As of 2021,<ref name=":0" /> there were 313,822 households with an average of 2.48 people per household. The median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $164,000 from 2017 to 2021, and the median gross rent was $929.

In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $42,916, and the median income for a family was $54,721. The per capita income for the county was $25,723. About 11.70% of families and 15.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2021, its median household income was $58,239 with a per capita income of $34,129. Approximately 16.3% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.<ref name=":0" />

Politics

Since the second half of the 20th century, Oklahoma County has been quite conservative for an urban county. It swung from a 20-point victory for Harry Truman in 1948 to a 15-point victory for Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. It has gone Republican in all but one presidential election since then; it narrowly voted for Lyndon Johnson in 1964. This mirrors the growing Republican trend in Oklahoma since the end of World War II. It was one of the few areas in the South where Jimmy Carter didn't do well.

However, the Republican share of votes for president has decreased in every election since the 2004 election (with the exception of 2024). In the 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial election, Democratic candidate Joy Hofmeister received her largest vote share of any county, with 55.0% of the vote and a modest improvement over the 2018 Democratic candidate, Drew Edmonson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Incumbent Republican Governor Mary Fallin was the last member of her party to win the county with 51.3% in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Also, in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Oklahoma, Democrat Kendra Horn received 52.3% of the vote in Oklahoma County, which was the only county in the state to vote for a Democratic House candidate, thereby changing parties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Horn would carry the county again in her 2022 Senate run, becoming the first Democratic Senatorial candidate to carry the county since David Boren's 1990 landslide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 2020 United States Presidential election, Republican Donald Trump narrowly carried the county (1% margin), down from 10 points in 2016. It was also the best showing for a Democrat in the county since LBJ. In 2024, Trump won the county, but again by a narrow plurality. However, his margin of victory was slightly larger while receiving less votes than in 2020.

County commissioners

District	Name	Party	Took office
1	Joe Blough	Democratic	2024<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2	Brian Maughan	Republican	2009
3	Myles Davidson	Republican	2023

County offices

Office	Name	Party	Took office
Assessor	Larry Stein	Republican	2019
County Clerk	Maressa Treat	Republican	2023
Court Clerk	Rick Warren	Republican	2017
District Attorney	Vicki Behenna	Democratic	2023
Sheriff	Tommie Johnson III	Republican	2021
Treasurer	Forrest Freeman	Republican	1993

Oklahoma House of Representatives

District	Name	Party	Took office
31	Collin Duel	Republican	2022
39	Ryan Martinez	Republican	2016
41	Denise Crosswhite-Hader	Republican	2019
54	Kevin West	Republican	2016
82	Nicole Miller	Republican	2019
83	Eric Roberts	Republican	2020
84	Tammy West	Republican	2016
85	Cyndi Muson	Democratic	2015
87	Collin Walke	Democratic	2016
88	Mauree Turner	Democratic	2020
89	Arturo Alonso Sandoval	Democratic	2022
90	Jon Echols	Republican	2013
92	Forrest Bennett	Democratic	2016
93	Mickey Dollens	Democratic	2016
94	Andy Fugate	Democratic	2019
95	Max Wolfley	Republican	2020
96	Preston Stinson	Republican	2020
97	Jason Lowe	Democratic	2016
99	Ajay Pittman	Democratic	2019
100	Marilyn Stark	Republican	2019
101	Robert Manger	Republican	2019

Oklahoma Senate

District	Name	Party	Took office
15	Rob Standridge	Republican	2012
17	Shane Jett	Republican	2020
22	Kristen Thompson	Republican	2022
30	Julia Kirt	Democratic	2018
40	Carrie Hicks	Democratic	2018
41	Adam Pugh	Republican	2016
42	Brenda Stanley	Republican	2018
44	Michael Brooks	Democratic	2017
45	Paul Rosino	Republican	2017
46	Kay Floyd	Democratic	2014
47	Greg Treat	Republican	2011
48	George Young	Democratic	2018

Congressional

District	Name	Party	Took office
OK-3	Frank Lucas	Republican	1994
OK-4	Tom Cole	Republican	2003
OK-5	Stephanie Bice	Republican	2021

Party registration

Voter registration and party enrollment as of January 15, 2025<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Party		Number of Voters	Percentage
Template:Party color cell	Republican	197,346	41.44%
Template:Party color cell	Democratic	161,443	33.91%
Template:Party color cell	Libertarian	5,058	1.06%
Template:Party color cell	Unaffiliated	112,275	23.58%
Total		476,122	100%

Communities

Education

School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

K-12:

Elementary only:

References

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External links

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