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Wikipedia

Oklahoma

Oklahoma (/ˌkləˈhmə/ (listen);[25] Choctaw: Oklahumma [oklahómma];[26] Cherokee: ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, Okalahoma [ògàlàhǒːmã́])[27] is a state in the South Central region of the United States,[28] bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South, it is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma
Oklahumma (Choctaw)
State of Oklahoma
Nicknames
  • Native America (official)
  • Land of the Red Man
  • Sooner State
Motto(s)
Labor omnia vincit
(English: Work conquers all)
Anthem: "Oklahoma" and
"Oklahoma Hills"
Map of the United States with Oklahoma highlighted
CountryUnited States
Before statehood
Admitted to the UnionNovember 16, 1907; 115 years ago (1907-11-16) (46th)
Capital
(and largest city)
Oklahoma City
Largest metro and urban areasGreater Oklahoma City
Government
 • GovernorKevin Stitt (R)
 • Lieutenant GovernorMatt Pinnell (R)
LegislatureOklahoma Legislature
 • Upper houseSenate
 • Lower houseHouse of Representatives
JudiciaryOklahoma Supreme Court (civil)
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (criminal)
U.S. senators
U.S. House delegation5 Republicans (list)
Area
 • Total69,898 sq mi (181,038 km2)
 • Land68,595 sq mi (177,660 km2)
 • Water1,304 sq mi (3,377 km2)  1.9%
 • Rank20th
Dimensions
 • Length465 mi (749 km)
 • Width230 mi (370 km)
Elevation
1,300 ft (400 m)
Highest elevation4,975 ft (1,516 m)
Lowest elevation289 ft (88 m)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total3,986,639
 • Rank28th
 • Density55.20/sq mi (21.30/km2)
  • Rank35th
 • Median household income
$50,051[3]
 • Income rank
43rd
Demonym(s)Oklahoman;
Okie (colloq., historically derogatory);
Sooner (historically)
Language
 • Official languageEnglish, Choctaw, Cherokee[a][4][5][6]
Time zones
entire state (legally)UTC−06:00 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−05:00 (CDT)
Kenton (informally)UTC−07:00 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
USPS abbreviation
OK
ISO 3166 codeUS-OK
Traditional abbreviationOkla.
Latitude33°37' N to 37° N
Longitude94° 26' W to 103° W
Websitewww.ok.gov
Oklahoma state symbols
Living insignia
AmphibianBullfrog[7]
BirdScissor-tailed Flycatcher[8]
FishSand bass[9]
Flower
GrassIndian Grass
InsectEuropean honey bee
MammalAmerican bison[10]
ReptileMountain Boomer
TreeRedbud
Inanimate insignia
BeverageMilk[11]
ColorsWhite and green (vice versa)
DanceWaltz: Oklahoma Wind
DinosaurAcrocanthosaurus atokensis[12]
Folk danceSquare dance
FossilSaurophaganax maximus[13]
InstrumentDrum[14]
RockRose Rock
SoilPort Silt Loam
TartanOklahoma Tartan
Other
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 2008, as part of the state quarters series. Oklahoma's state bird flying above its state wildflower.[24]
Lists of United States state symbols

The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla, 'people' and humma, which translates as 'red'.[29] Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the settlers who staked their claims on land before the official opening date of lands in the western Oklahoma Territory or before the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which increased European-American settlement in the eastern Indian Territory. Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged into the State of Oklahoma when it became the 46th state to enter the union on November 16, 1907.

With ancient mountain ranges, prairie, mesas, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers, and the U.S. Interior Highlands, all regions prone to severe weather.[30] Oklahoma is at a confluence of three major American cultural regions. Historically it served as a government-sanctioned territory for Native Americans removed from east of the Mississippi River, a route for cattle drives from Texas and related regions, and a destination for Southern settlers. There are currently twenty-five Native American languages still spoken in Oklahoma.[31]

A major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology.[32] Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma's primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas.[33]

Etymology

The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw language phrase okla, 'people', and humma, translated as 'red'.[29][34] Choctaw Nation Chief Allen Wright suggested the name in 1866 during treaty negotiations with the federal government on the use of Indian Territory. He envisioned an all–American Indian state controlled by the United States Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Oklahoma later became the de facto name for Oklahoma Territory, and it was officially approved in 1890, two years after that area was opened to white settlers.[35][36][37]

In the Chickasaw language, the state is known as Oklahomma', in Arapaho as bo'oobe' (literally meaning 'red earth'),[38] Pawnee: Uukuhuúwa,[39] and Cayuga: Gahnawiyoˀgeh.[40]

History

 
Map of Indian Territory (Oklahoma), 1889, Britannica 9th edition
 
Map of the Confederate States with allied tribes (in present-day Oklahoma)

Settlements

Indigenous peoples were present in what is now Oklahoma by the last ice age.[41] Ancestors of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes (including Teyas and Escanjaques and Tawakoni), Tonkawa,[42] and Caddo (including Kichai) lived in what is now Oklahoma. Southern Plains villagers lived in the central and west of the state, with a subgroup, the Panhandle culture people living in the panhandle region. Caddoan Mississippian culture peoples lived in the eastern part of the state. Spiro Mounds, in what is now Spiro, Oklahoma, was a major Mississippian mound complex that flourished between AD 850 and 1450.[43][44] Plains Apache people settled in the Southern Plains and in Oklahoma between 1300 and 1500.[45]

The Expedition of Spaniard Francisco Vázquez de Coronado traveled through the state in 1541,[46] but French explorers claimed the area in the early 18th century.[47] By the 18th century, Comanche and Kiowa entered the region from the west and Quapaw and Osage peoples moved into what is now eastern Oklahoma. French colonists claimed the region until 1803, when all the French territory west of the Mississippi River was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.[46] The territory was a part of the Arkansas Territory from 1819 until 1828.[48]

During the 19th century, the US federal government forcibly removed tens of thousands of Native Americans from their homelands from across North America and transported them to the area including and surrounding present-day Oklahoma. The Choctaw was the first of the Five Civilized Tribes to be removed from the Southeastern United States. The phrase "Trail of Tears" originated from a description of the removal of the Choctaw Nation in 1831, although the term is usually used for the Cherokee removal.[49]

Seventeen thousand Cherokees and 2,000 of their black slaves were deported.[50] The area, already occupied by Osage and Quapaw tribes, was called for the Choctaw Nation until revised Native American and then later American policy redefined the boundaries to include other Native Americans. By 1890, more than 30 Native American nations and tribes had been concentrated on land within Indian Territory or "Indian Country".[51]

All Five Civilized Tribes supported and signed treaties with the Confederate military during the American Civil War.[52] The Cherokee Nation had an internal civil war.[53] Slavery in Indian Territory was not abolished until 1866.[54]

In the period between 1866 and 1899,[46] cattle ranches in Texas strove to meet the demands for food in eastern cities and railroads in Kansas promised to deliver in a timely manner. Cattle trails and cattle ranches developed as cowboys either drove their product north or settled illegally in Indian Territory.[46] In 1881, four of five major cattle trails on the western frontier traveled through Indian Territory.[55]

Increased presence of white settlers in Indian Territory prompted the United States Government to establish the Dawes Act in 1887, which divided the lands of individual tribes into allotments for individual families, encouraging farming and private land ownership among Native Americans but expropriating land to the federal government. In the process, railroad companies took nearly half of Indian-held land within the territory for outside settlers and for purchase.[56]

 
The Dust Bowl sent thousands of farmers into poverty during the 1930s.

Major land runs, including the Land Run of 1889, were held for settlers where certain territories were opened to settlement starting at a precise time. Usually land was open to settlers on a first come first served basis.[57] Those who broke the rules by crossing the border into the territory before the official opening time were said to have been crossing the border sooner, leading to the term sooners, which eventually became the state's official nickname.[58] Deliberations to make the territory into a state began near the end of the 19th century, when the Curtis Act continued the allotment of Indian tribal land.[citation needed]

20th and 21st centuries

 
This map of the 'State of Sequoyah' was compiled from the USGS Map of Indian Territory (1902), revised to include the county divisions made under direction of Sequoyah Statehood Convention (1905), by D.W. Bolich, a civil engineer at Muskogee.

Attempts to create an all-Indian state named Oklahoma and a later attempt to create an all-Indian state named Sequoyah failed but the Sequoyah Statehood Convention of 1905 eventually laid the groundwork for the Oklahoma Statehood Convention, which took place two years later.[59] On June 16, 1906, Congress enacted a statute authorizing the people of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories (as well what would become the states of Arizona and New Mexico) to form a constitution and state government in order to be admitted as a state.[60] On November 16, 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation no. 780, establishing Oklahoma as the 46th state in the Union.[61]

 
The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in American history.

The new state became a focal point for the emerging oil industry, as discoveries of oil pools prompted towns to grow rapidly in population and wealth. Tulsa eventually became known as the "Oil Capital of the World" for most of the 20th century and oil investments fueled much of the state's early economy.[62] In 1927, Oklahoman businessman Cyrus Avery, known as the "Father of Route 66", began the campaign to create U.S. Route 66. Using a stretch of highway from Amarillo, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma to form the original portion of Highway 66, Avery spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Highway 66 Association to oversee the planning of Route 66, based in his hometown of Tulsa.[63]

Oklahoma also has a rich African-American history. Many Black towns, founded by the Freedmen of the Five Tribes during Reconstruction, thrived in the early 20th century with the arrival of Black Exodusters who migrated from neighboring states, especially Kansas. The politician Edward P. McCabe encouraged Black settlers to come to what was then Indian Territory. McCabe discussed with President Theodore Roosevelt the possibility of making Oklahoma a majority-Black state.[citation needed]

By the early 20th century, the Greenwood district of Tulsa was one of the most prosperous African-American communities in the United States.[64] Jim Crow laws had established racial segregation since before the start of the 20th century, but Tulsa's Black residents had created a thriving area.[citation needed]

Social tensions were exacerbated by the revival of the Ku Klux Klan after 1915. The Tulsa race massacre broke out in 1921, with White mobs attacking Black people and carrying out a pogrom in Greenwood. In one of the costliest episodes of racist violence in American history, sixteen hours of rioting resulted in 35 city blocks destroyed, $1.8 million in property damage, and a death toll estimated at between 75 and 300 people.[65] By the late 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan had declined to negligible influence within the state.[66]

During the 1930s, parts of the state began suffering the consequences of poor farming practices. This period was known as the Dust Bowl, throughout which areas of Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and northwestern Oklahoma were hampered by long periods of little rainfall, strong winds, abnormally high temperatures, and most notably, severe dust storms sending thousands of farmers into poverty and forcing them to relocate to more fertile areas of the western United States.[67] Over a twenty-year period ending in 1950, the state saw its only historical decline in population, dropping 6.9 percent as impoverished families migrated out of the state after the Dust Bowl.

Soil and water conservation projects markedly changed practices in the state and led to the construction of massive flood control systems and dams; they built hundreds of reservoirs and man-made lakes to supply water for domestic needs and agricultural irrigation. By the 1960s, Oklahoma had created more than 200 lakes, the most in the nation.[30][68]

 
The former reservations of the Five Civilized Tribes in dispute in McGirt v. Oklahoma

In 1995, Oklahoma City was the site of the most destructive act of domestic terrorism in American history. The Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995, in which Timothy McVeigh detonated a large, crude explosive device outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killed 168 people, including 19 children. For his crime, McVeigh was executed by the federal government on June 11, 2001. His accomplice, Terry Nichols, is serving life in prison without parole for helping plan the attack and prepare the explosive.[69]

On May 31, 2016, several cities experienced record setting flooding.[70][71]

On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States determined in McGirt v. Oklahoma that the reservations of the Five Tribes, comprising much of Eastern Oklahoma, were never disestablished by Congress and thus are still "Indian Country" for the purposes of criminal law.[72]

Geography

 
Köppen climate types of Oklahoma

Oklahoma is the 20th-largest state in the United States, covering an area of 69,899 square miles (181,040 km2), with 68,595 square miles (177,660 km2) of land and 1,304 square miles (3,380 km2) of water.[73] It lies partly in the Great Plains near the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states. It is bordered on the east by Arkansas and Missouri, on the north by Kansas, on the northwest by Colorado, on the far west by New Mexico, and on the south and near-west by Texas.

Borders

Oklahoma's border with Kansas was defined as the 37th Parallel in the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. This was disputed with the Cherokee and Osage Nations which claimed their border extended North of this line and could not be part of the Kansas Territory. This was resolved in the 1870 with the Drum Creek Treaty that reestablished Kansas's Southern Border as the 37th Parallel. This also applied to the then No-Man's Land that became the Oklahoma Panhandle.

The Oklahoma-Texas border consists of the Red River in the South and the 100th Meridian West as Western border between Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. These were first established in the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty between the United States and Spain.

The Oklahoma panhandle was originally part of the Panhandle of the Republic of Texas, but when Texas joined the Union as a slave state, it could not retain any lands north of 36 degrees 30 minutes, as specified in the Missouri Compromise. The Panhandle existed as a no-man's land until 1907 when Oklahoma acquired the territory upon gaining statehood.

Oklahoma's Eastern border is divided between Missouri and Arkansas. The Missouri-Oklahoma border is defined as the Meridian passing through the Kawsmouth,[74] where the Kansas River meets the Missouri River. This is the same Meridian as the Kansas-Missouri border.

The Oklahoma-Arkansas border was originally defined by two lines: the borders between Arkansas and the Cherokee and Choctaw Reservations. This formed two diagonal lines meeting at the western edge of Fort Smith Arkansas, with one line running northeast from the Red River and the other running southeast from the Oklahoma-Arkansas-Missouri border. The Choctaw-Arkansas border was established in the 1820 Treaty of Doak's Sand, and later refined in the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. These treaties left a 57-acre exclave of the Choctaw reservation bounded by Arkansas, the Arkansas River and the Poteau River. This became the site of a smuggling camp called "Coke Hill", noted mostly for its importance in cocaine smuggling.[75]

After Petitioning congress to hand over jurisdiction, the 57 acres was given to Arkansas in 1905. The 1985 US Supreme Court Case Oklahoma v. Arkansas decided the land would remain Arkansas, even though the Choctaw had not been notified or asked about the territory being handed over.[76] Therefore, the Poteau River serves as the Oklahoma-Arkansas boundary for approximately 1 mile, reducing the Choctaw Reservation and later Oklahoma by 57 acres as established in the treaties of the early 1800s.

Topography

Oklahoma is between the Great Plains and the Ozark Plateau in the Gulf of Mexico watershed,[77] generally sloping from the high plains of its western boundary to the low wetlands of its southeastern boundary.[78][79] Its highest and lowest points follow this trend, with its highest peak, Black Mesa, at 4,973 feet (1,516 m) above sea level, situated near its far northwest corner in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The state's lowest point is on the Little River near its far southeastern boundary near the town of Idabel, which dips to 289 feet (88 m) above sea level.[80]

Among the most geographically diverse states, Oklahoma is one of four to harbor more than 10 distinct ecological regions, with 11 in its borders—more per square mile than in any other state.[30] Its western and eastern halves, however, are marked by extreme differences in geographical diversity: Eastern Oklahoma touches eight ecological regions and its western half contains three. Although having fewer ecological regions Western Oklahoma contains many rare, relic species.[30]

Oklahoma has four primary mountain ranges: the Ouachita Mountains, the Arbuckle Mountains, the Wichita Mountains, and the Ozark Mountains.[78] Contained within the U.S. Interior Highlands region, the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains are the only major mountainous region between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians.[81] A portion of the Flint Hills stretches into north-central Oklahoma, and near the state's eastern border, The Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department regards Cavanal Hill as the world's tallest hill; at 1,999 feet (609 m), it fails their definition of a mountain by one foot.[82]

The semi-arid high plains in the state's northwestern corner harbor few natural forests; the region has a rolling to flat landscape with intermittent canyons and mesa ranges like the Glass Mountains. Partial plains interrupted by small, sky island mountain ranges like the Antelope Hills and the Wichita Mountains dot southwestern Oklahoma; transitional prairie and oak savannas cover the central portion of the state. The Ozark and Ouachita Mountains rise from west to east over the state's eastern third, gradually increasing in elevation in an eastward direction.[79][83]

More than 500 named creeks and rivers make up Oklahoma's waterways, and with 200 lakes created by dams, it holds the nation's highest number of artificial reservoirs.[82] Most of the state lies in two primary drainage basins belonging to the Red and Arkansas rivers, though the Lee and Little rivers also contain significant drainage basins.[83]

Flora and fauna

 
Populations of American bison inhabit the state's prairie ecosystems.

Due to Oklahoma's location at the confluence of many geographic regions, the state's climatic regions have a high rate of biodiversity. Forests cover 24 percent of Oklahoma[82] and prairie grasslands composed of shortgrass, mixed-grass, and tallgrass prairie, harbor expansive ecosystems in the state's central and western portions, although cropland has largely replaced native grasses.[84] Where rainfall is sparse in the state's western regions, shortgrass prairie and shrublands are the most prominent ecosystems, though pinyon pines, red cedar (junipers), and ponderosa pines grow near rivers and creek beds in the panhandle's far western reaches.[84] Southwestern Oklahoma contains many rare, disjunct species including sugar maple, bigtooth maple, nolina and Texas live oak.[85]

Marshlands, cypress forests and mixtures of shortleaf pine, loblolly pine, blue palmetto, and deciduous forests dominate the state's southeastern quarter, while mixtures of largely post oak, elm, red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and pine forests cover northeastern Oklahoma.[83][84][86]

The state holds populations of white-tailed deer, mule deer, antelope, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, elk, and birds such as quail, doves, cardinals, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and pheasants. In prairie ecosystems, American bison, greater prairie chickens, badgers, and armadillo are common, and some of the nation's largest prairie dog towns inhabit shortgrass prairie in the state's panhandle. The Cross Timbers, a region transitioning from prairie to woodlands in Central Oklahoma, harbors 351 vertebrate species. The Ouachita Mountains are home to black bear, red fox, gray fox, and river otter populations, which coexist with 328 vertebrate species in southeastern Oklahoma. Also, in southeastern Oklahoma lives the American alligator.[84]

Protected lands

Oklahoma has fifty-one state parks,[87] six national parks or protected regions,[88] two national protected forests or grasslands,[89] and a network of wildlife preserves and conservation areas. Six percent of the state's 10 million acres (40,000 km2) of forest is public land,[86] including the western portions of the Ouachita National Forest, the largest and oldest national forest in the Southern United States.[90]

With 39,000 acres (160 km2), the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in north-central Oklahoma is the largest protected area of tallgrass prairie in the world and is part of an ecosystem that encompasses only ten percent of its former land area, once covering fourteen states.[91] In addition, the Black Kettle National Grassland covers 31,300 acres (127 km2) of prairie in southwestern Oklahoma.[92] The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is the oldest and largest of nine National Wildlife Refuges in the state[93] and was founded in 1901, encompassing 59,020 acres (238.8 km2).[94]

Of Oklahoma's federally protected parks or recreational sites, the Chickasaw National Recreation Area is the largest, with 9,898.63 acres (40.0583 km2).[95] Other sites include the Santa Fe and Trail of Tears national historic trails, the Fort Smith and Washita Battlefield national historic sites, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial.[88]

Climate

 
Oklahoma's climate is prime for the generation of thunderstorms.
 
Winter at the Oklahoma Baptist University campus

Oklahoma is in a humid subtropical region[96] which lies in a transition zone between semi-arid further to the west, humid continental to the north, and humid subtropical to the east and southeast. Most of the state lies in an area known as Tornado Alley characterized by frequent interaction between cold, dry air from Canada, warm to hot, dry air from Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., and warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. The interactions between these three contrasting air currents produces severe weather (severe thunderstorms, damaging thunderstorm winds, large hail and tornadoes) with a frequency virtually unseen anywhere else on planet Earth.[80] An average 62 tornadoes strike the state per year—one of the highest rates in the world.[97]

Because of Oklahoma's position between zones of differing prevailing temperature and winds, weather patterns within the state can vary widely over relatively short distances, and they can change drastically in a short time.[80] On November 11, 1911, the temperature at Oklahoma City reached 83 °F (28 °C) (the record high for that date), then a cold front of unprecedented intensity slammed across the state, causing the temperature to reach 17 °F (−8 °C) (the record low for that date) by midnight.[98] This type of phenomenon is also responsible for many of the tornadoes in the area, such as the 1912 Oklahoma tornado outbreak when a warm front traveled along a stalled cold front, resulting in an average of about one tornado per hour.[99]

The humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) of central, southern and eastern Oklahoma is influenced heavily by southerly winds bringing moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Traveling westward, the climate transitions progressively toward a semi-arid zone (Köppen BSk) in the high plains of the Panhandle and other western areas from about Lawton westward, less frequently touched by southern moisture.[96] Precipitation and temperatures decline from east to west accordingly, with areas in the southeast averaging an annual temperature of 62 °F (17 °C) and an annual rainfall of generally over 40 in (1,020 mm) and up to 56 in (1,420 mm), while areas of the (higher-elevation) panhandle average 58 °F (14 °C), with an annual rainfall under 17 in (430 mm).[100]

Over almost all of Oklahoma, winter is the driest season. Average monthly precipitation increases dramatically in the spring to a peak in May, the wettest month over most of the state, with its frequent and not uncommonly severe thunderstorm activity. Early June can still be wet, but most years see a marked decrease in rainfall during June and early July. Mid-summer (July and August) represents a secondary dry season over much of Oklahoma, with long stretches of hot weather with only sporadic thunderstorm activity not uncommon many years. Severe drought is common in the hottest summers, such as those of 1934, 1954, 1980 and 2011, all of which featured weeks on end of virtual rainlessness and highs well over 100 °F (38 °C). Average precipitation rises again from September to mid-October, representing a secondary wetter season, then declines from late October through December.[80]

The entire state frequently experiences temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) or below 0 °F (−18 °C),[96] though below-zero temperatures are rare in south-central and southeastern Oklahoma. Snowfall ranges from an average of less than 4 in (102 mm) in the south to just over 20 in (508 mm) on the border of Colorado in the panhandle.[80] The state is home to the Storm Prediction Center, the National Severe Storms Laboratory, and the Warning Decision Training Division, all part of the National Weather Service and in Norman.[101]

Monthly temperatures for Oklahoma's largest cities[102][103]
City Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Oklahoma City Avg. high 50 °F
(10 °C)
55 °F
(13 °C)
63 °F
(17 °C)
73 °F
(23 °C)
80 °F
(27 °C)
88 °F
(31 °C)
94 °F
(34 °C)
93 °F
(34 °C)
85 °F
(29 °C)
73 °F
(23 °C)
62 °F
(17 °C)
51 °F
(11 °C)
Avg. low 29 °F
(−2 °C)
33 °F
(1 °C)
41 °F
(5 °C)
50 °F
(10 °C)
60 °F
(16 °C)
68 °F
(20 °C)
72 °F
(22 °C)
71 °F
(22 °C)
63 °F
(17 °C)
52 °F
(11 °C)
40 °F
(4 °C)
31 °F
(−1 °C)
Tulsa Avg. high 48 °F
(9 °C)
53 °F
(12 °C)
62 °F
(17 °C)
72 °F
(22 °C)
79 °F
(26 °C)
88 °F
(31 °C)
93 °F
(34 °C)
93 °F
(34 °C)
84 °F
(29 °C)
73 °F
(23 °C)
61 °F
(16 °C)
49 °F
(9 °C)
Avg. low 27 °F
(−3 °C)
31 °F
(−1 °C)
40 °F
(4 °C)
49 °F
(9 °C)
59 °F
(15 °C)
68 °F
(20 °C)
73 °F
(23 °C)
71 °F
(22 °C)
62 °F
(17 °C)
51 °F
(11 °C)
40 °F
(4 °C)
30 °F
(−1 °C)
Lawton Avg. high 50 °F
(10 °C)
56 °F
(13 °C)
65 °F
(18 °C)
73 °F
(23 °C)
82 °F
(28 °C)
90 °F
(32 °C)
96 °F
(36 °C)
95 °F
(35 °C)
86 °F
(30 °C)
76 °F
(24 °C)
62 °F
(17 °C)
52 °F
(11 °C)
Avg. low 26 °F
(−3 °C)
31 °F
(−1 °C)
40 °F
(4 °C)
49 °F
(9 °C)
59 °F
(15 °C)
68 °F
(20 °C)
73 °F
(23 °C)
71 °F
(22 °C)
63 °F
(17 °C)
51 °F
(11 °C)
39 °F
(4 °C)
30 °F
(−1 °C)

Demographics

The people of Oklahoma can be of any race or ethnicity. An Oklahoman is a resident, native, or cultural descendant of Oklahoma.

Population

 
Oklahoma population density map
Historical population
Census Pop.
1890258,657
1900790,391205.6%
19101,657,155109.7%
19202,028,28322.4%
19302,396,04018.1%
19402,336,434−2.5%
19502,233,351−4.4%
19602,328,2844.3%
19702,559,2299.9%
19803,025,29018.2%
19903,145,5854.0%
20003,450,6549.7%
20103,751,3518.7%
20203,959,3535.5%
2022 (est.)4,019,8001.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[104]
 
Map of counties in Oklahoma by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Legend

The United States Census Bureau estimates Oklahoma's population was 3,963,516 during the 2020 United States census, a 5.66% increase since the 2010 United States census.[105]

In 2010, the center of population of Oklahoma was in Lincoln County near the town of Sparks.[106]

The state's 2006 per capita personal income ranked 37th at $32,210, though it has the third-fastest-growing per capita income in the U.S.[107] Oklahoma ranks consistently among the lowest states in cost of living index.[108]

In 2011, 7.0% of Oklahomans were under the age of 5, 24.7% under 18, and 13.7% were 65 or older. Females made up 50.5% of the population.[109]

Race and ethnicity

As of the 2010 census, 72.2% of the population was white, 8.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 7.4% black or African American, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 4.1% from some other race and 5.9% of two or more races. 8.9% of Oklahoma's population were of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race).

Historical racial demographics
Racial composition 1940[110] 1970[110] 1990[110] 2010[111]
White 90.1% 89.1% 81% 72.2%
Hispanic 2.7% 8.9%
Native 2.7% 3.8% 8% 8.6%
Black 7.2% 6.7% 7.4% 7.4%
Asian (Included
Pacific Islanders before 1990)
- 0.1% 1.1% 1.7%
Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander
0.1%
Other race 0.2% 1.3% 4.1%
Two or more races 5.9%
Oklahoma racial composition by ethnicity without "Two or more races" category
Racial composition 2010[112] 2020[112]
White 77.5% 75.5%
Hispanic 8.9% 11.9%
Native 12.9% 16%
Black 8.7% 9.7%
Asian 2.2% 3.1%
Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander
0.2% 0.4%
Other race 4.7% 9%

In 2005, Oklahoma's estimated ancestral makeup was 14.5% German, 13.1% American, 11.8% Irish, 9.6% English, 8.1% African American, and 11.4% Native American (including 7.9% Cherokee)[113] though the percentage of people claiming American Indian as their only race was 8.1%.[114] Most people from Oklahoma who self-identify as having American ancestry are of overwhelmingly English and Scots-Irish ancestry with significant amounts of Scottish, Welsh and Irish inflection as well.[115][116]

In 2011, 47.3% of Oklahoma's population younger than age 1 were minorities, meaning they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white.[117]

In 2011, U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data from 2005 to 2009 indicated about 5% of Oklahoma's residents were born outside the United States. This is lower than the national figure (about 12.5% of U.S. residents were foreign-born).[118]

Cities and towns

The state is in the U.S. Census' Southern region. According to the 2020 United States census, Oklahoma is the 28th-most populous state with 3,963,516 inhabitants but the 19th-largest by land area spanning 68,594.92 square miles (177,660.0 km2) of land.[119] In 2010, Oklahoma was divided into 77 counties and contains 597 incorporated municipalities consisting of cities and towns.[120]

In Oklahoma, cities are all those incorporated communities which are 1,000 or more in population and are incorporated as cities.[121] Towns are limited to town board type of municipal government. Cities may choose among aldermanic, mayoral, council-manager, and home-rule charter types of government.[122] Cities may also petition to incorporate as towns.[123]

The Oklahoma City suburb Nichols Hills is first on Oklahoma locations by per capita income at $73,661, though Tulsa County holds the highest average.[124][125]

 
 
Largest cities or towns in Oklahoma
Source (2020):[126]
Rank Name County Pop.
 
Oklahoma City
 
Tulsa
1 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 681,054  
Norman
 
Broken Arrow
2 Tulsa Tulsa 413,066
3 Norman Cleveland 128,026
4 Broken Arrow Tulsa 113,540
5 Edmond Oklahoma 94,428
6 Lawton Comanche 90,381
7 Moore Cleveland 62,793
8 Midwest City Oklahoma 58,409
9 Enid Garfield 51,308
10 Stillwater Payne 48,394

Language

Recording of a Cherokee language stomp dance ceremony in Oklahoma
 
Located in Tahlequah, this stop sign includes Cherokee lettering

English

The English language has been official in the state of Oklahoma since 2010.[127] The variety of North American English spoken is called Oklahoma English, and this dialect is quite diverse with its uneven blending of features of North Midland, South Midland, and Southern dialects.[128] In 2000, 2,977,187 Oklahomans—92.6% of the resident population, five years or older—spoke only English at home, a decrease from 95% in 1990.[128] 238,732 Oklahoma residents reported speaking a language other than English at home in the 2000 census, about 7.4% of the state's population.[128]

Native American languages

The two most commonly spoken native North American languages are Cherokee and Choctaw with 10,000 Cherokee speakers living within the Cherokee Nation tribal jurisdiction area of eastern Oklahoma, and another 10,000 Choctaw speakers living in the Choctaw Nation directly south of the Cherokees.[129] Cherokee is an official language in the Cherokee Nation tribal jurisdiction area and in the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians.[4][5][6]

Twenty-five Native American languages are spoken in Oklahoma,[31] second only to California. However, only Cherokee, if any, exhibits some language vitality at present. Ethnologue sees Cherokee as moribund because the only remaining active users of the language are members of the grandparent generation and older.

Other languages

Top 10 non-English languages spoken in Oklahoma
Language Percentage of population
(as of 2000)[128]
Spanish 4.4%
Native North American languages 0.6%
German and Vietnamese (tied) 0.4%
French 0.3%
Chinese 0.2%
Korean, Arabic, Tagalog, Japanese (tied) 0.1%

Spanish is the second-most commonly spoken language in the state, with 141,060 speakers counted in 2000.[128] German has 13,444 speakers representing about 0.4% of the state's population,[128] and Vietnamese is spoken by 11,330 people,[128] or about 0.4% of the population,[128] many of whom live in the Asia District of Oklahoma City. Other languages include French with 8,258 speakers (0.3%), Chinese with 6,413 (0.2%), Korean with 3,948 (0.1%), Arabic with 3,265 (0.1%), other Asian languages with 3,134 (0.1%), Tagalog with 2,888 (0.1%), Japanese with 2,546 (0.1%), and African languages with 2,546 (0.1%).[128]

Religion

Oklahoma is part of a geographical region characterized by conservative and Evangelical Christianity known as the "Bible Belt". Spanning the southern and eastern parts of the United States, the area is known for politically and socially conservative views, with the Republican Party having the greater number of voters registered between the two parties.[130] Tulsa, the state's second-largest city, home to Oral Roberts University, is sometimes called the "buckle of the Bible Belt".[131][132]

In 2000, there were about 5,000 Jews and 6,000 Muslims, with ten congregations to each group.[133]

According to the Pew Research Center in 2008, the majority of Oklahoma's religious adherents were Christian, accounting for about 80 percent of the population. The percentage of Catholics was half the national average, while the percentage of Evangelical Protestants was more than twice the national average (tied with Arkansas for the largest percentage of any state).[134]

In 2010, the state's largest church memberships were in the Southern Baptist Convention (886,394 members), the United Methodist Church (282,347), the Roman Catholic Church (178,430), and the Assemblies of God (85,926) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) [135] (47,349). Other religions represented in the state include Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam.[136]

According to the Pew Research Center in 2014, the majority of Oklahoma's religious adherents were Christian accounting for 79 percent of the population, 9 percent higher than the national average.[137] The percentage of Evangelical Protestants declined since the last study, but they remain the largest religious group in the state at 47 percent, over 20 percent higher than the national average.[137] The largest growth over the six years between Pew's 2008 and 2014 survey was in the number of people who identify as Unaffiliated in the state with an increase of 6 percent.

Religious Affiliation in Oklahoma
Religion 2008[133][b] 2014[138]
Evangelical Protestant 53% 47%
Mainline Protestant 16% 18%
Historically Black Protestant 3% 4%
Catholic 12% 8%
Mormon <0.5% 1%
Orthodox Christianity <0.5% <1%
Jehovah's Witness <0.5% <1%
Other Christians 1% <1%
Jewish 1% <1%
Muslim <0.5% <1%
Buddhist 1% <1%
Hindu <0.5% <1%
Other World Faiths <0.5% <1%
Unaffiliated, Atheist, Agnostic, and nothing in particular 12% 18%
Unitarians, Humanists, Deists, Spiritual but not religious, Eclectic, and "other liberal faiths" No data <1%
New Age religion, Pagans or Wiccan No data <1%
Native American religions No data <1%
Don't Know 1% 1%

Incarceration

Oklahoma has been described as "the world's prison capital", with 1,079 of every 100,000 residents imprisoned in 2018, the highest incarceration rate of any state, and by comparison, higher than the incarceration rates of any country in the world.[139][140]

Economy

 
The BOK Tower of Tulsa, Oklahoma's second-tallest building, serves as the world headquarters for Williams Companies.

Oklahoma is host to a diverse range of sectors including aviation, energy, transportation equipment, food processing, electronics, and telecommunications. Oklahoma is an important producer of natural gas, aircraft, and food.[32] The state ranks third in the nation for production of natural gas, is the 27th-most agriculturally productive state, and also ranks 5th in production of wheat.[141] Four Fortune 500 companies and six Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in Oklahoma,[142] and it has been rated one of the most business-friendly states in the nation,[143] with the 7th-lowest tax burden in 2007.[144]

  • Total employment (2018): 1,385,228
  • Number of employer establishments: 93,561[145]

In 2010, Oklahoma City-based Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores ranked 18th on the Forbes list of largest private companies, Tulsa-based QuikTrip ranked 37th, and Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby ranked 198th in 2010 report.[146] Oklahoma's gross domestic product grew from $131.9 billion in 2006 to $147.5 billion in 2010, a jump of 10.6 percent.[147] Oklahoma's gross domestic product per capita was $35,480 in 2010, which was ranked 40th among the states.[148]

Though oil has historically dominated the state's economy, a collapse in the energy industry during the 1980s led to the loss of nearly 90,000 energy-related jobs between 1980 and 2000, severely damaging the local economy.[149] Oil accounted for 35 billion dollars in Oklahoma's economy in 2007,[150] and employment in the state's oil industry was outpaced by five other industries in 2007.[151] As of September 2020, the state's unemployment rate is 5.3%.[152]

Industry

In mid-2011, Oklahoma had a civilian labor force of 1.7 million and non-farm employment fluctuated around 1.5 million.[151] The government sector provides the most jobs, with 339,300 in 2011, followed by the transportation and utilities sector, providing 279,500 jobs, and the sectors of education, business, and manufacturing, providing 207,800, 177,400, and 132,700 jobs, respectively.[151] Among the state's largest industries, the aerospace sector generates $11 billion annually.[143]

Tulsa is home to the largest airline maintenance base in the world, which serves as the global maintenance and engineering headquarters for American Airlines.[153] In total, aerospace accounts for more than 10 percent of Oklahoma's industrial output, and it is one of the top 10 states in aerospace engine manufacturing.[32] Because of its position in the center of the United States, Oklahoma is also among the top states for logistic centers, and a major contributor to weather-related research.[143]

The state is the top manufacturer of tires in North America and contains one of the fastest-growing biotechnology industries in the nation.[143] In 2005, international exports from Oklahoma's manufacturing industry totaled $4.3 billion, accounting for 3.6 percent of its economic impact.[154] Tire manufacturing, meat processing, oil and gas equipment manufacturing, and air conditioner manufacturing are the state's largest manufacturing industries.[155]

Energy

 
A major oil-producing state, Oklahoma is the fifth-largest producer of crude oil in the United States.[150]

Oklahoma is the nation's third-largest producer of natural gas, and its fifth-largest producer of crude oil. The state also has the second-greatest number of active drilling rigs,[150][156] and it is even ranked fifth in crude oil reserves.[157] While the state was ranked eighth for installed wind energy capacity in 2011,[158] it still was at the bottom of states in usage of renewable energy in 2009, with 94% of its electricity being generated by non-renewable sources in 2009, including 25% from coal and 46% from natural gas.[159]

Ten years later in 2019, 53.5% of electricity was produced from natural gas and 34.6% from wind power.[160]

Oklahoma has no nuclear power plants. Ranking 13th for total energy consumption per capita in 2009,[161] the state's energy costs were eighth-lowest in the nation.[162]

As a whole, the oil energy industry contributes $35 billion to Oklahoma's gross domestic product (GDP), and employees of the state's oil-related companies earn an average of twice the state's typical yearly income.[150] In 2009, the state had 83,700 commercial oil wells churning 65.374 million barrels (10,393,600 m3) of crude oil.[163] 8.5% of the nation's natural gas supply is held in Oklahoma, with 1.673 trillion cubic feet (47.4 km3) being produced in 2009.[163]

The Oklahoma Stack Play is a geographic referenced area in the Anadarko Basin. The oil field "Sooner Trend", Anadarko basin and the counties of Kingfisher and Canadian make up the basis for the "Oklahoma STACK". Other Plays such as the Eagle Ford are geological rather than geographical.[164]

According to Forbes magazine, Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, and SandRidge Energy Corporation are the largest private oil-related companies in the nation,[165] and all Oklahoma's Fortune 500 companies are energy-related.[142] Tulsa's ONEOK and Williams Companies are the state's largest and second-largest companies respectively, also ranking as the nation's second- and third-largest companies in the field of energy, according to Fortune magazine.[166] The magazine also placed Devon Energy as the second-largest company in the mining and crude oil-producing industry in the nation, while Chesapeake Energy ranks seventh respectively in that sector and Oklahoma Gas & Electric ranks as the 25th-largest gas and electric utility company.[166]

Oklahoma Gas & Electric, commonly referred to as OG&E (NYSE: OGE) operates four base electric power plants in Oklahoma. Two of them are coal-fired power plants: one in Muskogee, and the other in Red Rock. Two are gas-fired power plants: one in Harrah and the other in Konawa. OG&E was the first electric company in Oklahoma to generate electricity from wind farms in 2003.[167]

Wind generation

Agriculture

The 27th-most agriculturally productive state, Oklahoma is fifth in cattle production and fifth in production of wheat.[141][168] Approximately 5.5 percent of American beef comes from Oklahoma, while the state produces 6.1 percent of American wheat, 4.2 percent of American pig products, and 2.2 percent of dairy products.[141]

The state had 85,500 farms in 2012, collectively producing $4.3 billion in animal products and fewer than one billion dollars in crop output with more than $6.1 billion added to the state's gross domestic product.[141] Poultry and swine are its second- and third-largest agricultural industries.[168]

Education

 
Oklahoma's system of public regional universities includes Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

With an educational system made up of public school districts and independent private institutions, Oklahoma had 638,817 students enrolled in 1,845 public primary, secondary, and vocational schools in 533 school districts as of 2008.[169] Oklahoma has the highest enrollment of Native American students in the nation with 126,078 students in the 2009–10 school year.[170] Oklahoma spent $7,755 for each student in 2008, and was 47th in the nation in expenditures per student,[169] though its growth of total education expenditures between 1992 and 2002 ranked 22nd.[171]

The state is among the best in pre-kindergarten education, and the National Institute for Early Education Research rated it first in the United States with regard to standards, quality, and access to pre-kindergarten education in 2004, calling it "a model for early childhood schooling".[172] High school dropout rate decreased from 3.1 to 2.5 percent between 2007 and 2008 with Oklahoma ranked among 18 other states with 3 percent or less dropout rate.[173] In 2004, the state ranked 36th in the nation for the relative number of adults with high school diplomas, though at 85.2 percent, it had the highest rate among Southern states.[174][175] According to a study conducted by the Pell Institute, Oklahoma ranks 48th in college-participation for low-income students.[176]

The University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Northeastern State University are the largest public institutions of higher education in Oklahoma, each operating through one primary campus and satellite campuses throughout the state. The two state universities, along with Oklahoma City University and the University of Tulsa, rank among the country's best in undergraduate business programs.[177]

Oklahoma City University School of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law, and University of Tulsa College of Law are the state's only ABA-accredited institutions. Both University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa are Tier 1 institutions, with the University of Oklahoma ranked 68th and the University of Tulsa ranked 86th in the nation.[178]

Oklahoma holds eleven public regional universities,[179] including Northeastern State University, the second-oldest institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River,[180] also containing the only College of Optometry in Oklahoma[181] and the largest enrollment of Native American students in the nation by percentage and amount.[180][182] Langston University is Oklahoma's only historically black college. Six of the state's universities were placed in the Princeton Review's list of best 122 regional colleges in 2007,[183] and three made the list of top colleges for best value. The state has 55 post-secondary technical institutions operated by Oklahoma's CareerTech program for training in specific fields of industry or trade.[169]

In the 2007–2008 school year, there were 181,973 undergraduate students, 20,014 graduate students, and 4,395 first-professional degree students enrolled in Oklahoma colleges. Of these students, 18,892 received a bachelor's degree, 5,386 received a master's degree, and 462 received a first professional degree. This means the state of Oklahoma produces an average of 38,278-degree-holders per completions component (i.e. July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008). National average is 68,322 total degrees awarded per completions component.[184]

Beginning on April 2, 2018, tens of thousands of K–12 public school teachers went on strike due to lack of funding. According to the National Education Association, teachers in Oklahoma had ranked 49th out of the 50 states in terms of teacher pay in 2016. The Oklahoma Legislature had passed a measure a week earlier to raise teacher salaries by $6,100, but it fell short of the $10,000 raise for teachers, $5,000 raise for other school employees, and $200 million increase in extra education funding many had sought.[185] A survey in 2019 found that the pay raise obtained by the strike lifted the State's teacher pay ranking to 34th in the nation.[186]

Non-English education

 
Writing in Cherokee

The Cherokee Nation instigated a ten-year plan in 2005 that involved growing new speakers of the Cherokee language from childhood as well as speaking it exclusively at home.[187] The plan was part of an ambitious goal that in fifty years would have at least 80% of their people fluent.[188] The Cherokee Preservation Foundation has invested $3 million into opening schools, training teachers, and developing curricula for language education, as well as initiating community gatherings where the language can be actively used.[188] A Cherokee language immersion school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma educates students from pre-school through eighth grade.[189]

Culture

 
The Pioneer Woman statue in Ponca City, by Bryant Baker (1930)

Oklahoma is placed in the South by the United States Census Bureau,[28] but other definitions place the state at least partly in the Southwest, Midwest,[190] Upland South,[191] and Great Plains.[192] Oklahomans have a high rate of English, Scotch-Irish, German, and Native American ancestry,[193] with 25 different native languages spoken.[31]

Because many Native Americans were forced to move to Oklahoma when White settlement in North America increased, Oklahoma has much linguistic diversity. Mary Linn, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma and the associate curator of Native American languages at the Sam Noble Museum, notes Oklahoma also has high levels of language endangerment.[194]

Sixty-seven Native American tribes are represented in Oklahoma,[46] including 39 federally recognized tribes, who are headquartered and have tribal jurisdictional areas in the state.[195] Western ranchers, Native American tribes, Southern settlers, and eastern oil barons have shaped the state's cultural predisposition, and its largest cities have been named among the most underrated cultural destinations in the United States.[196]

Residents of Oklahoma are associated with traits of Southern hospitality—the 2006 Catalogue for Philanthropy (with data from 2004) ranks Oklahomans 7th in the nation for overall generosity.[197] The state has also been associated with a negative cultural stereotype first popularized by John Steinbeck's 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, which described the plight of uneducated, poverty-stricken Dust Bowl-era farmers deemed "Okies".[198][199] While the term is often used in a positive manner by Oklahomans,[198] it is still considered a derogatory term by many.[200]

Arts

 
Philbrook Museum of Art, one of the nation's top fifty[201]

In the state's largest urban areas, pockets of jazz culture flourish,[202] and Native American, Mexican American, and Asian American communities produce music and art of their respective cultures.[203] The Oklahoma Mozart Festival in Bartlesville is one of the largest classical music festivals on the southern plains,[204] and Oklahoma City's Festival of the Arts has been named one of the top fine arts festivals in the nation.[202]

The state has a rich history in ballet with five Native American ballerinas attaining worldwide fame. These were Yvonne Chouteau, sisters Marjorie and Maria Tallchief, Rosella Hightower and Moscelyne Larkin, known collectively as the Five Moons. The New York Times rates the Tulsa Ballet as one of the top ballet companies in the United States.[202] The Oklahoma City Ballet and University of Oklahoma's dance program were formed by ballerina Yvonne Chouteau and husband Miguel Terekhov. The university program was founded in 1962 and was the first fully accredited program of its kind in the United States.[205][206]

In Sand Springs, an outdoor amphitheater called "Discoveryland!" (since closed) is the official performance headquarters for the musical Oklahoma![207] Ridge Bond, native of McAlester, Oklahoma,[208] starred in the Broadway and International touring productions of Oklahoma!,[209][210][211][212] playing the role of "Curly McClain" in more than 2,600 performances.[209][213] In 1953 he was featured along with the Oklahoma! cast on a CBS Omnibus television broadcast.[213] Bond was instrumental in the Oklahoma! title song becoming the Oklahoma state song[208][214] and is also featured on the U.S. postage stamp commemorating the musical's 50th anniversary.[209][215] Historically, the state has produced musical styles such as The Tulsa Sound and western swing, which was popularized at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa. The building, known as the "Carnegie Hall of Western Swing",[216] served as the performance headquarters of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys during the 1930s.[217] Stillwater is known as the epicenter of Red Dirt music, the best-known proponent of which is the late Bob Childers.

Prominent theatre companies in Oklahoma include, in the capital city, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Theatre Company, Carpenter Square Theatre, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, and CityRep. CityRep is a professional company affording equity points to those performers and technical theatre professionals. In Tulsa, Oklahoma's oldest resident professional company is American Theatre Company, and Theatre Tulsa is the oldest community theatre company west of the Mississippi. Other companies in Tulsa include Heller Theatre and Tulsa Spotlight Theater. The cities of Norman, Lawton, and Stillwater, among others, also host well-reviewed community theatre companies.

Oklahoma is in the nation's middle percentile in per capita spending on the arts, ranking 17th, and contains more than 300 museums.[202] The Philbrook Museum of Tulsa is considered one of the top 50 fine art museums in the United States,[201] and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History in Norman, one of the largest university-based art and history museums in the country, documents the natural history of the region.[202] The collections of Thomas Gilcrease are housed in the Gilcrease Museum of Tulsa, which also holds the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West.[218]

The Egyptian art collection at the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art in Shawnee is considered to be the finest Egyptian collection between Chicago and Los Angeles.[219] The Oklahoma City Museum of Art contains the most comprehensive collection of glass sculptures by artist Dale Chihuly in the world,[220] and Oklahoma City's National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum documents the heritage of the American Western frontier.[202] With remnants of the Holocaust and artifacts relevant to Judaism, the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art of Tulsa preserves the largest collection of Jewish art in the Southwest United States.[221]

Festivals and events

 
National Powwow dancer of the Cherokee of Oklahoma, 2007

Oklahoma's centennial celebration was named the top event in the United States for 2007 by the American Bus Association,[222] and consisted of multiple celebrations saving with the 100th anniversary of statehood on November 16, 2007. Annual ethnic festivals and events take place throughout the state such as Native American powwows and ceremonial events, and include festivals (as examples) in Scottish, Irish, German, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Czech, Jewish, Arab, Mexican and African-American communities depicting cultural heritage or traditions.

Oklahoma City is home to a few reoccurring events and festivals. During a ten-day run in Oklahoma City, the State Fair of Oklahoma attracts roughly one million people[223] along with the annual Festival of the Arts. Large national pow wows, various Latin and Asian heritage festivals, and cultural festivals such as the Juneteenth celebrations are held in Oklahoma City each year. The Oklahoma City Pride Parade has been held annually in late June since 1987 in the gay district of Oklahoma City on 39th and Penn.[224] The First Friday Art Walk in the Paseo Arts District is an art appreciation festival held the first Friday of every month.[225] Additionally, an annual art festival is held in the Paseo on Memorial Day Weekend.[226]

The Tulsa State Fair attracts more than a million people each year during its ten-day run,[227] and the city's Mayfest festival entertained more than 375,000 in four days during 2007.[228] In 2006, Tulsa's Oktoberfest was named one of the top 10 in the world by USA Today.

Norman plays host to the Norman Music Festival, a festival that highlights native Oklahoma bands and musicians. Norman is also host to the Medieval Fair of Norman, which has been held annually since 1976 and was Oklahoma's first medieval fair. The Fair was held first on the south oval of the University of Oklahoma campus and in the third year moved to the Duck Pond in Norman until the Fair became too big and moved to Reaves Park in 2003. The Medieval Fair of Norman is Oklahoma's "largest weekend event and the third-largest event in Oklahoma, and was selected by Events Media Network as one of the top 100 events in the nation".[229]

Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the state's only major league sports franchise. The state had a team in the Women's National Basketball Association, the Tulsa Shock, from 2010 through 2015, but the team relocated to Dallas–Fort Worth after that season[230] and became the Dallas Wings.[231]

Oklahoma has teams in several minor leagues, including Minor League Baseball at the Triple-A and Double-A levels (the Oklahoma City Dodgers and Tulsa Drillers, respectively), hockey's ECHL with the Tulsa Oilers, and a number of indoor football leagues. In the last-named sport, the state's most notable team was the Tulsa Talons, which played in the Arena Football League until 2012, when the team was moved to San Antonio, Texas. The Oklahoma Defenders replaced the Talons as Tulsa's only professional arena football team, playing the CPIFL. The Oklahoma City Blue, of the NBA G League, relocated to Oklahoma City from Tulsa in 2014, where they were formerly known as the Tulsa 66ers. Tulsa is the base for the Tulsa Revolution, which plays in the American Indoor Soccer League.[232] Enid and Lawton host professional basketball teams in the USBL and the CBA.

 
The Oklahoma City Thunder moved there in 2008, becoming its first permanent major-league team in any sport.

Collegiate athletics are a popular draw in the state. The state has four schools that compete at the highest level of college sports, NCAA Division I. The most prominent are the state's two members of the Big 12 Conference,[233] one of the so-called Power Five conferences of the top tier of college football, Division I FBS. The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University average well over 50,000 fans attending their football games, and Oklahoma's football program ranked 12th in attendance among American colleges in 2010, with an average of 84,738 people attending its home games.[234] The two universities meet several times each year in rivalry matches known as the Bedlam Series, which are some of the greatest sporting draws to the state. Sports Illustrated magazine rates Oklahoma and Oklahoma State among the top colleges for athletics in the nation.[235][236]

Two private institutions in Tulsa, the University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University; are also Division I members. Tulsa competes in FBS football and other sports in the American Athletic Conference,[237] while Oral Roberts, which does not sponsor football,[238] is a member of the Summit League.[239] In addition, 12 of the state's smaller colleges and universities compete in NCAA Division II as members of three different conferences,[240][241][242] and eight other Oklahoma institutions participate in the NAIA, mostly within the Sooner Athletic Conference.[243]

Regular LPGA tournaments are held at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa, and major championships for the PGA or LPGA have been played at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oak Tree Country Club in Oklahoma City, and Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa.[244] Rated one of the top golf courses in the nation, Southern Hills has hosted five PGA Championships, including one in 2022, and three U.S. Opens, the most recent in 2001.[245] Rodeos are popular throughout the state, and Guymon, in the state's panhandle, hosts one of the largest in the nation.[246]

ESPN called Oklahoma City "the center of the softball universe", specifically referring to the fast-pitch version, in a 2020 story. Oklahoma City is home to the governing body of the sport in the United States, USA Softball, which has its headquarters in a complex that also includes the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. It annually hosts the Women's College World Series, the eight-team final round of the NCAA Division I softball tournament.[247]

Wrestling is a sport with a strong tradition in Oklahoma. Oklahoma State has the most NCAA national championships of any collegiate team with 34, with the Oklahoma Sooners having 7 NCAA wrestling titles. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma.[248]

Current professional teams

Hockey
Club Type League Venue City Area (Metro/Region)
Tulsa Oilers Hockey ECHL BOK Center Tulsa Tulsa Metro
Football
Club Type League Venue City Area (Metro/Region)
Oklahoma Flying Aces Indoor Football CIF Stride Bank Center Enid
Oklahoma Thunder Football GDFL Bixby High School Bixby Tulsa Metro
Oklahoma City Bounty Hunters Football GDFL Putnam City Stadium Warr Acres OKC Metro
Rugby
Club Type League Venue City Area (Metro/Region)
Tulsa Rugby Club Men's Rugby Division II Rugby Riverside Pitch Tulsa Tulsa Metro

Health

 
Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southwestern Regional Medical Center, Tulsa

Oklahoma was the 21st-largest recipient of medical funding from the federal government in 2005, with health-related federal expenditures in the state totaling $75,801,364; immunizations, bioterrorism preparedness, and health education were the top three most funded medical items.[249] Instances of major diseases are near the national average in Oklahoma, and the state ranks at or slightly above the rest of the country in percentage of people with asthma, diabetes, cancer, and hypertension.[249]

In 2000, Oklahoma ranked 45th in physicians per capita and slightly below the national average in nurses per capita, but was slightly above the national average in hospital beds per 100,000 people and above the national average in net growth of health services over a twelve-year period.[250] One of the worst states for percentage of insured people, nearly 25 percent of Oklahomans between the age of 18 and 64 did not have health insurance in 2005, the fifth-highest rate in the nation.[251]

Oklahomans are in the upper half of Americans in terms of obesity prevalence, and the state is the 5th most obese in the nation, with 30.3 percent of its population at or near obesity.[252] Oklahoma ranked last among the 50 states in a 2007 study by the Commonwealth Fund on health care performance.[253]

The OU Medical Center, Oklahoma's largest collection of hospitals, is the only hospital in the state designated a Level I trauma center by the American College of Surgeons. OU Medical Center is on the grounds of the Oklahoma Health Center in Oklahoma City, the state's largest concentration of medical research facilities.[254][255]

The Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southwestern Regional Medical Center in Tulsa is one of four such regional facilities nationwide, offering cancer treatment to the entire southwestern United States, and is one of the largest cancer treatment hospitals in the country.[256] The largest osteopathic teaching facility in the nation, Oklahoma State University Medical Center at Tulsa, also rates as one of the largest facilities in the field of neuroscience.[257][258] On June 26, 2018, Oklahoma made marijuana legal for medical purposes, making it one of the most conservative states to approve medical marijuana.[259]

Life expectancy

The residents of Oklahoma have a lower life expectancy than the U.S. national average. In 2014, males in Oklahoma lived an average of 73.7 years compared to a male national average of 76.7 years and females lived an average of 78.5 years compared to a female national average of 81.5 years. Moreover, increases in life expectancy have been below the national average. Male life expectancy in Oklahoma between 1980 and 2014, increased by an average of 4.0 years, compared to a male national average of a 6.7 year increase. Life expectancy for females in Oklahoma between 1980 and 2014, increased by 1.0 years, compared to a female national average of a 4.0 year increase.[260]

Using 2016–2018 data, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation calculated that life expectancy (all sexes) for Oklahoma counties ranged from 71.2 years for Okfuskee County to 79.7 years for Cimarron and Logan counties. Life expectancy for the state as a whole was 76.0 years.[261]

Impact of Covid

As of December 22, 2022, Oklahoma has been impacted more by the Covid pandemic (2020-?) than the average U.S. State. Statistics for the U.S. as a whole are 331 deaths per 100,000 population with 68 percent of the population fully vaccinated. The comparable statistics for Oklahoma are 405 deaths per 100,000 population with 59 percent of the population fully vaccinated. 16,041 deaths from Covid have been recorded in Oklahoma. A wide variation in deaths from Covid exists among Oklahoma counties. Greer County recorded the highest death rate of .00753 (753 deaths per 100,000 residents). Payne County recorded the lowest death rate of .00231 (231 deaths per 100,000 residents.[262]

Media

 
The second-largest newspaper in Oklahoma, the Tulsa World, has a circulation of 189,789.[263]

Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the 45th- and 61st-largest media markets in the United States as ranked by Nielsen Media Research. The state's third-largest media market, Lawton-Wichita Falls, Texas, is ranked 149th nationally by the agency.[264] Broadcast television in Oklahoma began in 1949 when KFOR-TV (then WKY-TV) in Oklahoma City and KOTV-TV in Tulsa began broadcasting a few months apart.[265] Currently, all major American broadcast networks have affiliated television stations in the state.[266]

The state has two primary newspapers. The Oklahoman, based in Oklahoma City, is the largest newspaper in the state and 54th-largest in the nation by circulation, with a weekday readership of 138,493 and a Sunday readership of 202,690. The Tulsa World, the second-most widely circulated newspaper in Oklahoma and 79th in the nation, holds a Sunday circulation of 132,969 and a weekday readership of 93,558.[263] Oklahoma's first newspaper was established in 1844, called the Cherokee Advocate, and was written in both Cherokee and English.[267] In 2006, there were more than 220 newspapers in the state, including 177 with weekly publications and 48 with daily publications.[267]

The state's first radio station, WKY in Oklahoma City, began broadcasting in 1920.[268] In 2006, there were more than 500 radio stations in Oklahoma broadcasting with various local or nationally owned networks. Five universities in Oklahoma operate non-commercial, public radio stations/networks.[269]

Oklahoma has a few ethnic-oriented TV stations broadcasting in Spanish and Asian languages, and there is some Native American programming. TBN, a Christian religious television network, has a studio in Tulsa, and built its first entirely TBN-owned affiliate in Oklahoma City in 1980.[270]

Transportation

 
Road network and waterways of Oklahoma from the 1970 edition of the National Atlas

Transportation in Oklahoma is generated by an anchor system of Interstate Highways, inter-city rail lines, airports, inland ports, and mass transit networks. Situated along an integral point in the United States Interstate network, Oklahoma contains three primary Interstate highways and four auxiliary Interstate Highways. In Oklahoma City, Interstate 35 intersects with Interstate 44 and Interstate 40, forming one of the most important intersections along the United States highway system.[271]

More than 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of roads make up the state's major highway skeleton, including state-operated highways, ten turnpikes or major toll roads,[271] and the longest drivable stretch of Route 66 in the nation.[272] In 2008, Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City was Oklahoma's busiest highway, with a daily traffic volume of 123,300 cars.[273] In 2010, the state had the nation's third-highest number of bridges classified as structurally deficient, with nearly 5,212 bridges in disrepair, including 235 National Highway System Bridges.[274]

Oklahoma's largest commercial airport is Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, averaging a yearly passenger count of more than 3.5 million (1.7 million boardings) in 2010.[275] Tulsa International Airport, the state's second-largest commercial airport, served more than 1.3 million boardings in 2010.[276] Between the two, six airlines operate in Oklahoma.[277][278] In terms of traffic, R. L. Jones Jr. (Riverside) Airport in Tulsa is the state's busiest airport, with 335,826 takeoffs and landings in 2008.[279] Oklahoma has more than 150 public-use airports.[280]

Oklahoma is connected to the nation's rail network via Amtrak's Heartland Flyer, its only regional passenger rail line. It currently stretches from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas, though lawmakers began seeking funding in early 2007 to connect the Heartland Flyer to Tulsa.[281]

Two inland ports on rivers serve Oklahoma: the Port of Muskogee and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa. The Tulsa Port of Catoosa is the one of the United States' most inland international ports, at head of navigation of the McClellan–Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, which connects barge traffic from Tulsa and Muskogee to the Mississippi River.[282] The port ships over two million tons of goods annually and is a designated foreign trade zone.

Law and government

 
The Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma is a constitutional republic with a government modeled after the federal government of the United States, with executive, legislative, and judicial branches.[283] The state has 77 counties with jurisdiction over most local government functions within each respective domain,[79] five congressional districts, and a voting base with a plurality in the Republican Party.[284] State officials are elected by plurality voting in the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has capital punishment as a legal sentence, and the state has had (between 1976 through mid-2011) the highest per capita execution rate in the nation.[285]

In a 2020 study, Oklahoma was ranked as the 14th hardest state for citizens to vote in.[286]

State government

The Legislature of Oklahoma consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. As the lawmaking branch of the state government, it is responsible for raising and distributing the money necessary to run the government. The Senate has 48 members serving four-year terms, while the House has 101 members with two-year terms. The state has a term limit for its legislature that restricts any one person to twelve cumulative years service between both legislative branches.[287][288]

Oklahoma's judicial branch consists of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, and 77 District Courts that each serve one county. The Oklahoma judiciary also contains two independent courts: a Court of Impeachment and the Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary. Oklahoma has two courts of last resort: the state Supreme Court hears civil cases, and the state Court of Criminal Appeals hears criminal cases (this split system exists only in Oklahoma and neighboring Texas). Judges of those two courts, as well as the Court of Civil Appeals are appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the state Judicial Nominating Commission, and are subject to a non-partisan retention vote on a six-year rotating schedule.[287]

 
The five congressional districts of Oklahoma

The executive branch consists of the Governor, their staff, and other elected officials. The principal head of government, the Governor is the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, serving as the ex officio Commander-in-chief of the Oklahoma National Guard when not called into Federal use and reserving the power to veto bills passed through the Legislature. The responsibilities of the Executive branch include submitting the budget, ensuring state laws are enforced, and ensuring peace within the state is preserved.[289]

Local government

The state is divided into 77 counties that govern locally, each headed by a three-member council of elected commissioners, a tax assessor, clerk, court clerk, treasurer, and sheriff.[290] While each municipality operates as a separate and independent local government with executive, legislative and judicial power, county governments maintain jurisdiction over both incorporated cities and non-incorporated areas within their boundaries, and have executive power but no legislative or judicial power. Both county and municipal governments collect taxes, employ a separate police force, hold elections, and operate emergency response services within their jurisdiction.[291][292] Other local government units include school districts, technology center districts, community college districts, rural fire departments, rural water districts, and other special use districts.

Thirty-nine Native American tribal governments are based in Oklahoma, each holding limited powers within designated areas. While Indian reservations are typical in most of the United States, they are not present in Oklahoma, tribal governments hold land granted during the Indian Territory era, but with limited jurisdiction and no control over state governing bodies such as municipalities and counties. Tribal governments are recognized by the United States as quasi-sovereign entities with executive, judicial, and legislative powers over tribal members and functions, but are subject to the authority of the United States Congress to revoke or withhold certain powers. The tribal governments are required to submit a constitution and any subsequent amendments to the United States Congress for approval.[293][294]

Oklahoma has 11 substate districts including the two large Councils of Governments, INCOG in Tulsa (Indian Nations Council of Governments) and ACOG (Association of Central Oklahoma Governments).

National politics

United States presidential election results for Oklahoma[295]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 1,020,280 65.37% 503,890 32.29% 36,529 2.34%
2016 949,136 65.32% 420,375 28.93% 83,481 5.75%
2012 891,325 66.77% 443,547 33.23% 0 0.00%
2008 960,165 65.65% 502,496 34.35% 0 0.00%
2004 959,792 65.57% 503,966 34.43% 0 0.00%
2000 744,337 60.31% 474,276 38.43% 15,616 1.27%
1996 582,315 48.26% 488,105 40.45% 136,293 11.29%
1992 592,929 42.65% 473,066 34.02% 324,364 23.33%
1988 678,367 57.93% 483,423 41.28% 9,246 0.79%
1984 861,530 68.61% 385,080 30.67% 9,066 0.72%
1980 695,570 60.50% 402,026 34.97% 52,112 4.53%
1976 545,708 49.96% 532,442 48.75% 14,101 1.29%
1972 759,025 73.70% 247,147 24.00% 23,728 2.30%
1968 449,697 47.68% 301,658 31.99% 191,731 20.33%
1964 412,665 44.25% 519,834 55.75% 0 0.00%
1960 533,039 59.02% 370,111 40.98% 0 0.00%
1956 473,769 55.13% 385,581 44.87% 0 0.00%
1952 518,045 54.59% 430,939 45.41% 0 0.00%
1948 268,817 37.25% 452,782 62.75% 0 0.00%
1944 319,424 44.20% 401,549 55.57% 1,663 0.23%
1940 348,872 42.23% 474,313 57.41% 3,027 0.37%
1936 245,122 32.69% 501,069 66.83% 3,549 0.47%
1932 188,165 26.70% 516,468 73.30% 0 0.00%
1928 394,046 63.72% 219,174 35.44% 5,207 0.84%
1924 226,242 42.82% 255,798 48.41% 46,375 8.78%
1920 243,831 50.11% 217,053 44.61% 25,726 5.29%
1916 97,233 33.25% 148,113 50.65% 47,070 16.10%
1912 90,786 35.77% 119,156 46.95% 43,859 17.28%
1908 110,474 43.33% 122,363 47.99% 22,146 8.69%
 
Party registration by county (January 2018)
  Democrat >= 40%
  Democrat >= 50%
  Democrat >= 60%
  Democrat >= 70%
  Republican >= 40%
  Republican >= 50%
  Republican >= 60%
  Republican >= 70%
 
Treemap of the popular vote by county, 2016 presidential election

During the first half-century of statehood, Oklahoma was considered a Democratic stronghold, being carried by the Republican Party in only two presidential elections (1920 and 1928). After the 1948 election, the state turned firmly Republican. Although registered Republicans were a minority in the state until 2015,[296] Oklahoma has been carried by Republican presidential candidates in all but one election since 1952: Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 landslide victory. Every single county in the state has been won by the Republican candidate in each election since 2004. Oklahoma City was the largest city in the United States carried by Republican Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Democrats are strongest in the eastern part of the state and Little Dixie, as well as the most heavily African American and inner parts of Oklahoma City and Tulsa. With a population of 8.6% Native American in the state, it is also worth noting that most Native American precincts vote Democratic in margins exceeded only by African Americans.[297]

Following the 2000 census, the Oklahoma delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives was reduced from six to five representatives, each serving one congressional district. In the current Congress, Republicans comprise Oklahoma's entire delegation.

Voter registration and party enrollment As of October 31, 2022[298]
Party Number of voters Percentage
Republican 1,175,253 51.19%
Democratic 687,545 29.95%
Libertarian 19,780 0.86%
No affiliation/Other 413,328 18.00%
Total 2,295,906 100%

Military

Cities and towns

Major cities

 
Oklahoma City is the state's capital and largest city.

Oklahoma had 598 incorporated places in 2010, including four cities over 100,000 in population and 43 over 10,000.[299] Two of the fifty largest cities in the United States are in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and sixty-five percent of Oklahomans live within their metropolitan areas, or spheres of economic and social influence defined by the United States Census Bureau as a metropolitan statistical area. Oklahoma City, the state's capital and largest city, had the largest metropolitan area in the state in 2020, with 1,425,695 people, and the metropolitan area of Tulsa had 1,015,331 residents.[300] Between 2000 and 2010, the leading cities in population growth were Blanchard (172.4%), Elgin (78.2%), Jenks (77.0%), Piedmont (56.7%), Bixby (56.6%), and Owasso (56.3%).[299]

 
Tulsa is the state's second-largest city by population and by land area.

In descending order of population, Oklahoma's largest cities in 2010 were: Oklahoma City (579,999, +14.6%), Tulsa (391,906, −0.3%), Norman (110,925, +15.9%), Broken Arrow (98,850, +32.0%), Lawton (96,867, +4.4%), Edmond (81,405, +19.2%), Moore (55,081, +33.9%), Midwest City (54,371, +0.5%), Enid (49,379, +5.0%), and Stillwater (45,688, +17.0%). Of the state's ten largest cities, three are outside the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and only Lawton has a metropolitan statistical area of its own as designated by the United States Census Bureau, though the metropolitan statistical area of Fort Smith, Arkansas extends into the state.[124]

Under Oklahoma law, municipalities are divided into two categories: cities, defined as having more than 1,000 residents, and towns, with under 1,000 residents. Both have legislative, judicial, and public power within their boundaries, but cities can choose between a mayor–council, council–manager, or strong mayor form of government, while towns operate through an elected officer system.[291]

 
The American bison is Oklahoma's state mammal.

State symbols

State law codifies Oklahoma's state emblems and honorary positions;[301] the Oklahoma Senate or House of Representatives may adopt resolutions designating others for special events and to benefit organizations. In 2012 the House passed HCR 1024, which would change the state motto from "Labor Omnia Vincit" to "Oklahoma—In God We Trust!" The author of the resolution stated a constituent researched the Oklahoma Constitution and found no "official" vote regarding "Labor Omnia Vincit", therefore opening the door for an entirely new motto.[302][303]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Choctaw official within Choctaw Nation, Cherokee official within Cherokee Nation and UKB
  2. ^ Determined by a survey by the Pew Research Center in 2008. Percentages represent claimed religious beliefs, not necessarily membership in any particular congregation. Figures have a ±5 percent margin of error.[134]

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oklahoma, this, article, about, state, other, uses, disambiguation, redirects, here, newspaper, film, film, listen, choctaw, oklahumma, oklahómma, cherokee, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, okalahoma, ògàlàhǒːmã, state, south, central, region, united, states, bordered, texas, south, we. This article is about the U S state For other uses see Oklahoma disambiguation Oklahoman redirects here For the newspaper see The Oklahoman For the film see The Oklahoman film Oklahoma ˌ oʊ k l e ˈ h oʊ m e listen 25 Choctaw Oklahumma oklahomma 26 Cherokee ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ Okalahoma ogalahǒːma 27 is a state in the South Central region of the United States 28 bordered by Texas on the south and west Kansas on the north Missouri on the northeast Arkansas on the east New Mexico on the west and Colorado on the northwest Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South it is the 20th most extensive and the 28th most populous of the 50 United States Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City Oklahoma Oklahumma Choctaw StateState of OklahomaFlagSealNicknames Native America official Land of the Red ManSooner StateMotto s Labor omnia vincit English Work conquers all Anthem Oklahoma and Oklahoma Hills Map of the United States with Oklahoma highlightedCountryUnited StatesBefore statehoodIndian Territory Independent 1834 1907 Oklahoma Territory U S jurisdiction 1890 1907 Admitted to the UnionNovember 16 1907 115 years ago 1907 11 16 46th Capital and largest city Oklahoma CityLargest metro and urban areasGreater Oklahoma CityGovernment GovernorKevin Stitt R Lieutenant GovernorMatt Pinnell R LegislatureOklahoma Legislature Upper houseSenate Lower houseHouse of RepresentativesJudiciaryOklahoma Supreme Court civil Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals criminal U S senatorsJames Lankford R Markwayne Mullin R U S House delegation5 Republicans list Area Total69 898 sq mi 181 038 km2 Land68 595 sq mi 177 660 km2 Water1 304 sq mi 3 377 km2 1 9 Rank20thDimensions Length465 mi 749 km Width230 mi 370 km Elevation1 300 ft 400 m Highest elevation Black Mesa 1 2 4 975 ft 1 516 m Lowest elevation Little River at Arkansas border 1 2 289 ft 88 m Population 2021 Total3 986 639 Rank28th Density55 20 sq mi 21 30 km2 Rank35th Median household income 50 051 3 Income rank43rdDemonym s Oklahoman Okie colloq historically derogatory Sooner historically Language Official languageEnglish Choctaw Cherokee a 4 5 6 Time zonesentire state legally UTC 06 00 Central Summer DST UTC 05 00 CDT Kenton informally UTC 07 00 Mountain Summer DST UTC 06 00 MDT USPS abbreviationOKISO 3166 codeUS OKTraditional abbreviationOkla Latitude33 37 N to 37 NLongitude94 26 W to 103 WWebsitewww wbr ok wbr govOklahoma state symbolsFlag of OklahomaLiving insigniaAmphibianBullfrog 7 BirdScissor tailed Flycatcher 8 FishSand bass 9 FlowerOklahoma RoseWildflower Indian BlanketGrassIndian GrassInsectEuropean honey beeMammalAmerican bison 10 ReptileMountain BoomerTreeRedbudInanimate insigniaBeverageMilk 11 ColorsWhite and green vice versa DanceWaltz Oklahoma WindDinosaurAcrocanthosaurus atokensis 12 Folk danceSquare danceFossilSaurophaganax maximus 13 InstrumentDrum 14 RockRose RockSoilPort Silt LoamTartanOklahoma TartanOtherCartoon Gusty created by Don Woods Oklahoma s first professional meteorologist used on KTUL TV from 1954 to 1989 15 16 Fruit Strawberry 17 Vegetable Watermelon 18 19 Game bird Wild turkey 20 Monument Golden Driller 21 Rock song Do You Realize by The Flaming Lips 22 Theater group Lynn Riggs Players of Oklahoma 23 8 State route markerState quarterReleased in 2008 as part of the state quarters series Oklahoma s state bird flying above its state wildflower 24 Lists of United States state symbolsThe state s name is derived from the Choctaw words okla people and humma which translates as red 29 Oklahoma is also known informally by its nickname The Sooner State in reference to the settlers who staked their claims on land before the official opening date of lands in the western Oklahoma Territory or before the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 which increased European American settlement in the eastern Indian Territory Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged into the State of Oklahoma when it became the 46th state to enter the union on November 16 1907 With ancient mountain ranges prairie mesas and eastern forests most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains Cross Timbers and the U S Interior Highlands all regions prone to severe weather 30 Oklahoma is at a confluence of three major American cultural regions Historically it served as a government sanctioned territory for Native Americans removed from east of the Mississippi River a route for cattle drives from Texas and related regions and a destination for Southern settlers There are currently twenty five Native American languages still spoken in Oklahoma 31 A major producer of natural gas oil and agricultural products Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation energy telecommunications and biotechnology 32 Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahoma s primary economic anchors with nearly two thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas 33 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Settlements 2 2 20th and 21st centuries 3 Geography 3 1 Borders 3 2 Topography 3 3 Flora and fauna 3 4 Protected lands 3 5 Climate 4 Demographics 4 1 Population 4 2 Race and ethnicity 4 3 Cities and towns 4 4 Language 4 4 1 English 4 4 2 Native American languages 4 4 3 Other languages 4 5 Religion 4 6 Incarceration 5 Economy 5 1 Industry 5 2 Energy 5 2 1 Wind generation 5 3 Agriculture 6 Education 6 1 Non English education 7 Culture 7 1 Arts 7 2 Festivals and events 7 3 Sports 7 3 1 Current professional teams 8 Health 8 1 Life expectancy 8 2 Impact of Covid 9 Media 10 Transportation 11 Law and government 11 1 State government 11 2 Local government 11 3 National politics 11 4 Military 12 Cities and towns 12 1 Major cities 13 State symbols 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 17 Further reading 18 External links 18 1 Government 18 2 Tourism and recreation 18 3 Culture and history 18 4 Maps and demographicsEtymology EditThe name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw language phrase okla people and humma translated as red 29 34 Choctaw Nation Chief Allen Wright suggested the name in 1866 during treaty negotiations with the federal government on the use of Indian Territory He envisioned an all American Indian state controlled by the United States Superintendent of Indian Affairs Oklahoma later became the de facto name for Oklahoma Territory and it was officially approved in 1890 two years after that area was opened to white settlers 35 36 37 In the Chickasaw language the state is known as Oklahomma in Arapaho as bo oobe literally meaning red earth 38 Pawnee Uukuhuuwa 39 and Cayuga Gahnawiyoˀgeh 40 History EditMain article History of Oklahoma Map of Indian Territory Oklahoma 1889 Britannica 9th edition Map of the Confederate States with allied tribes in present day Oklahoma Settlements Edit Indigenous peoples were present in what is now Oklahoma by the last ice age 41 Ancestors of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes including Teyas and Escanjaques and Tawakoni Tonkawa 42 and Caddo including Kichai lived in what is now Oklahoma Southern Plains villagers lived in the central and west of the state with a subgroup the Panhandle culture people living in the panhandle region Caddoan Mississippian culture peoples lived in the eastern part of the state Spiro Mounds in what is now Spiro Oklahoma was a major Mississippian mound complex that flourished between AD 850 and 1450 43 44 Plains Apache people settled in the Southern Plains and in Oklahoma between 1300 and 1500 45 The Expedition of Spaniard Francisco Vazquez de Coronado traveled through the state in 1541 46 but French explorers claimed the area in the early 18th century 47 By the 18th century Comanche and Kiowa entered the region from the west and Quapaw and Osage peoples moved into what is now eastern Oklahoma French colonists claimed the region until 1803 when all the French territory west of the Mississippi River was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase 46 The territory was a part of the Arkansas Territory from 1819 until 1828 48 During the 19th century the US federal government forcibly removed tens of thousands of Native Americans from their homelands from across North America and transported them to the area including and surrounding present day Oklahoma The Choctaw was the first of the Five Civilized Tribes to be removed from the Southeastern United States The phrase Trail of Tears originated from a description of the removal of the Choctaw Nation in 1831 although the term is usually used for the Cherokee removal 49 Seventeen thousand Cherokees and 2 000 of their black slaves were deported 50 The area already occupied by Osage and Quapaw tribes was called for the Choctaw Nation until revised Native American and then later American policy redefined the boundaries to include other Native Americans By 1890 more than 30 Native American nations and tribes had been concentrated on land within Indian Territory or Indian Country 51 All Five Civilized Tribes supported and signed treaties with the Confederate military during the American Civil War 52 The Cherokee Nation had an internal civil war 53 Slavery in Indian Territory was not abolished until 1866 54 In the period between 1866 and 1899 46 cattle ranches in Texas strove to meet the demands for food in eastern cities and railroads in Kansas promised to deliver in a timely manner Cattle trails and cattle ranches developed as cowboys either drove their product north or settled illegally in Indian Territory 46 In 1881 four of five major cattle trails on the western frontier traveled through Indian Territory 55 Increased presence of white settlers in Indian Territory prompted the United States Government to establish the Dawes Act in 1887 which divided the lands of individual tribes into allotments for individual families encouraging farming and private land ownership among Native Americans but expropriating land to the federal government In the process railroad companies took nearly half of Indian held land within the territory for outside settlers and for purchase 56 The Dust Bowl sent thousands of farmers into poverty during the 1930s Major land runs including the Land Run of 1889 were held for settlers where certain territories were opened to settlement starting at a precise time Usually land was open to settlers on a first come first served basis 57 Those who broke the rules by crossing the border into the territory before the official opening time were said to have been crossing the border sooner leading to the term sooners which eventually became the state s official nickname 58 Deliberations to make the territory into a state began near the end of the 19th century when the Curtis Act continued the allotment of Indian tribal land citation needed 20th and 21st centuries Edit Main articles Organic act List of organic acts Oklahoma Territory Admission to the Union and List of U S states by date of admission to the Union This map of the State of Sequoyah was compiled from the USGS Map of Indian Territory 1902 revised to include the county divisions made under direction of Sequoyah Statehood Convention 1905 by D W Bolich a civil engineer at Muskogee Attempts to create an all Indian state named Oklahoma and a later attempt to create an all Indian state named Sequoyah failed but the Sequoyah Statehood Convention of 1905 eventually laid the groundwork for the Oklahoma Statehood Convention which took place two years later 59 On June 16 1906 Congress enacted a statute authorizing the people of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories as well what would become the states of Arizona and New Mexico to form a constitution and state government in order to be admitted as a state 60 On November 16 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation no 780 establishing Oklahoma as the 46th state in the Union 61 The bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in American history The new state became a focal point for the emerging oil industry as discoveries of oil pools prompted towns to grow rapidly in population and wealth Tulsa eventually became known as the Oil Capital of the World for most of the 20th century and oil investments fueled much of the state s early economy 62 In 1927 Oklahoman businessman Cyrus Avery known as the Father of Route 66 began the campaign to create U S Route 66 Using a stretch of highway from Amarillo Texas to Tulsa Oklahoma to form the original portion of Highway 66 Avery spearheaded the creation of the U S Highway 66 Association to oversee the planning of Route 66 based in his hometown of Tulsa 63 Oklahoma also has a rich African American history Many Black towns founded by the Freedmen of the Five Tribes during Reconstruction thrived in the early 20th century with the arrival of Black Exodusters who migrated from neighboring states especially Kansas The politician Edward P McCabe encouraged Black settlers to come to what was then Indian Territory McCabe discussed with President Theodore Roosevelt the possibility of making Oklahoma a majority Black state citation needed By the early 20th century the Greenwood district of Tulsa was one of the most prosperous African American communities in the United States 64 Jim Crow laws had established racial segregation since before the start of the 20th century but Tulsa s Black residents had created a thriving area citation needed Social tensions were exacerbated by the revival of the Ku Klux Klan after 1915 The Tulsa race massacre broke out in 1921 with White mobs attacking Black people and carrying out a pogrom in Greenwood In one of the costliest episodes of racist violence in American history sixteen hours of rioting resulted in 35 city blocks destroyed 1 8 million in property damage and a death toll estimated at between 75 and 300 people 65 By the late 1920s the Ku Klux Klan had declined to negligible influence within the state 66 During the 1930s parts of the state began suffering the consequences of poor farming practices This period was known as the Dust Bowl throughout which areas of Kansas Texas New Mexico and northwestern Oklahoma were hampered by long periods of little rainfall strong winds abnormally high temperatures and most notably severe dust storms sending thousands of farmers into poverty and forcing them to relocate to more fertile areas of the western United States 67 Over a twenty year period ending in 1950 the state saw its only historical decline in population dropping 6 9 percent as impoverished families migrated out of the state after the Dust Bowl Soil and water conservation projects markedly changed practices in the state and led to the construction of massive flood control systems and dams they built hundreds of reservoirs and man made lakes to supply water for domestic needs and agricultural irrigation By the 1960s Oklahoma had created more than 200 lakes the most in the nation 30 68 The former reservations of the Five Civilized Tribes in dispute in McGirt v Oklahoma In 1995 Oklahoma City was the site of the most destructive act of domestic terrorism in American history The Oklahoma City bombing of April 19 1995 in which Timothy McVeigh detonated a large crude explosive device outside the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people including 19 children For his crime McVeigh was executed by the federal government on June 11 2001 His accomplice Terry Nichols is serving life in prison without parole for helping plan the attack and prepare the explosive 69 On May 31 2016 several cities experienced record setting flooding 70 71 On July 9 2020 the Supreme Court of the United States determined in McGirt v Oklahoma that the reservations of the Five Tribes comprising much of Eastern Oklahoma were never disestablished by Congress and thus are still Indian Country for the purposes of criminal law 72 Geography EditMain article Geography of Oklahoma See also List of Oklahoma tri points Koppen climate types of Oklahoma Oklahoma is the 20th largest state in the United States covering an area of 69 899 square miles 181 040 km2 with 68 595 square miles 177 660 km2 of land and 1 304 square miles 3 380 km2 of water 73 It lies partly in the Great Plains near the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states It is bordered on the east by Arkansas and Missouri on the north by Kansas on the northwest by Colorado on the far west by New Mexico and on the south and near west by Texas Borders Edit Oklahoma s border with Kansas was defined as the 37th Parallel in the 1854 Kansas Nebraska Act This was disputed with the Cherokee and Osage Nations which claimed their border extended North of this line and could not be part of the Kansas Territory This was resolved in the 1870 with the Drum Creek Treaty that reestablished Kansas s Southern Border as the 37th Parallel This also applied to the then No Man s Land that became the Oklahoma Panhandle The Oklahoma Texas border consists of the Red River in the South and the 100th Meridian West as Western border between Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle These were first established in the 1819 Adams Onis Treaty between the United States and Spain The Oklahoma panhandle was originally part of the Panhandle of the Republic of Texas but when Texas joined the Union as a slave state it could not retain any lands north of 36 degrees 30 minutes as specified in the Missouri Compromise The Panhandle existed as a no man s land until 1907 when Oklahoma acquired the territory upon gaining statehood Oklahoma s Eastern border is divided between Missouri and Arkansas The Missouri Oklahoma border is defined as the Meridian passing through the Kawsmouth 74 where the Kansas River meets the Missouri River This is the same Meridian as the Kansas Missouri border The Oklahoma Arkansas border was originally defined by two lines the borders between Arkansas and the Cherokee and Choctaw Reservations This formed two diagonal lines meeting at the western edge of Fort Smith Arkansas with one line running northeast from the Red River and the other running southeast from the Oklahoma Arkansas Missouri border The Choctaw Arkansas border was established in the 1820 Treaty of Doak s Sand and later refined in the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek These treaties left a 57 acre exclave of the Choctaw reservation bounded by Arkansas the Arkansas River and the Poteau River This became the site of a smuggling camp called Coke Hill noted mostly for its importance in cocaine smuggling 75 After Petitioning congress to hand over jurisdiction the 57 acres was given to Arkansas in 1905 The 1985 US Supreme Court Case Oklahoma v Arkansas decided the land would remain Arkansas even though the Choctaw had not been notified or asked about the territory being handed over 76 Therefore the Poteau River serves as the Oklahoma Arkansas boundary for approximately 1 mile reducing the Choctaw Reservation and later Oklahoma by 57 acres as established in the treaties of the early 1800s Topography Edit See also List of lakes in Oklahoma Oklahoma is between the Great Plains and the Ozark Plateau in the Gulf of Mexico watershed 77 generally sloping from the high plains of its western boundary to the low wetlands of its southeastern boundary 78 79 Its highest and lowest points follow this trend with its highest peak Black Mesa at 4 973 feet 1 516 m above sea level situated near its far northwest corner in the Oklahoma Panhandle The state s lowest point is on the Little River near its far southeastern boundary near the town of Idabel which dips to 289 feet 88 m above sea level 80 Among the most geographically diverse states Oklahoma is one of four to harbor more than 10 distinct ecological regions with 11 in its borders more per square mile than in any other state 30 Its western and eastern halves however are marked by extreme differences in geographical diversity Eastern Oklahoma touches eight ecological regions and its western half contains three Although having fewer ecological regions Western Oklahoma contains many rare relic species 30 Oklahoma has four primary mountain ranges the Ouachita Mountains the Arbuckle Mountains the Wichita Mountains and the Ozark Mountains 78 Contained within the U S Interior Highlands region the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains are the only major mountainous region between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians 81 A portion of the Flint Hills stretches into north central Oklahoma and near the state s eastern border The Oklahoma Tourism amp Recreation Department regards Cavanal Hill as the world s tallest hill at 1 999 feet 609 m it fails their definition of a mountain by one foot 82 The semi arid high plains in the state s northwestern corner harbor few natural forests the region has a rolling to flat landscape with intermittent canyons and mesa ranges like the Glass Mountains Partial plains interrupted by small sky island mountain ranges like the Antelope Hills and the Wichita Mountains dot southwestern Oklahoma transitional prairie and oak savannas cover the central portion of the state The Ozark and Ouachita Mountains rise from west to east over the state s eastern third gradually increasing in elevation in an eastward direction 79 83 More than 500 named creeks and rivers make up Oklahoma s waterways and with 200 lakes created by dams it holds the nation s highest number of artificial reservoirs 82 Most of the state lies in two primary drainage basins belonging to the Red and Arkansas rivers though the Lee and Little rivers also contain significant drainage basins 83 Turner Falls State rock rose rock specimens from Cleveland County Illinois River in northeastern Oklahoma Elk Mountain in the eastern Wichita Mountains southwestern Oklahoma Wichita Mountains Narrows The Ouachita Mountains cover much of southeastern Oklahoma Grave Creek in McIntosh County Mesas rise above one of Oklahoma s state parksFlora and fauna Edit See also List of fauna of Oklahoma Populations of American bison inhabit the state s prairie ecosystems Due to Oklahoma s location at the confluence of many geographic regions the state s climatic regions have a high rate of biodiversity Forests cover 24 percent of Oklahoma 82 and prairie grasslands composed of shortgrass mixed grass and tallgrass prairie harbor expansive ecosystems in the state s central and western portions although cropland has largely replaced native grasses 84 Where rainfall is sparse in the state s western regions shortgrass prairie and shrublands are the most prominent ecosystems though pinyon pines red cedar junipers and ponderosa pines grow near rivers and creek beds in the panhandle s far western reaches 84 Southwestern Oklahoma contains many rare disjunct species including sugar maple bigtooth maple nolina and Texas live oak 85 Marshlands cypress forests and mixtures of shortleaf pine loblolly pine blue palmetto and deciduous forests dominate the state s southeastern quarter while mixtures of largely post oak elm red cedar Juniperus virginiana and pine forests cover northeastern Oklahoma 83 84 86 The state holds populations of white tailed deer mule deer antelope coyotes mountain lions bobcats elk and birds such as quail doves cardinals bald eagles red tailed hawks and pheasants In prairie ecosystems American bison greater prairie chickens badgers and armadillo are common and some of the nation s largest prairie dog towns inhabit shortgrass prairie in the state s panhandle The Cross Timbers a region transitioning from prairie to woodlands in Central Oklahoma harbors 351 vertebrate species The Ouachita Mountains are home to black bear red fox gray fox and river otter populations which coexist with 328 vertebrate species in southeastern Oklahoma Also in southeastern Oklahoma lives the American alligator 84 Protected lands Edit Oklahoma has fifty one state parks 87 six national parks or protected regions 88 two national protected forests or grasslands 89 and a network of wildlife preserves and conservation areas Six percent of the state s 10 million acres 40 000 km2 of forest is public land 86 including the western portions of the Ouachita National Forest the largest and oldest national forest in the Southern United States 90 With 39 000 acres 160 km2 the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in north central Oklahoma is the largest protected area of tallgrass prairie in the world and is part of an ecosystem that encompasses only ten percent of its former land area once covering fourteen states 91 In addition the Black Kettle National Grassland covers 31 300 acres 127 km2 of prairie in southwestern Oklahoma 92 The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is the oldest and largest of nine National Wildlife Refuges in the state 93 and was founded in 1901 encompassing 59 020 acres 238 8 km2 94 Of Oklahoma s federally protected parks or recreational sites the Chickasaw National Recreation Area is the largest with 9 898 63 acres 40 0583 km2 95 Other sites include the Santa Fe and Trail of Tears national historic trails the Fort Smith and Washita Battlefield national historic sites and the Oklahoma City National Memorial 88 Climate Edit Further information Climate change in Oklahoma Oklahoma s climate is prime for the generation of thunderstorms Winter at the Oklahoma Baptist University campus Oklahoma is in a humid subtropical region 96 which lies in a transition zone between semi arid further to the west humid continental to the north and humid subtropical to the east and southeast Most of the state lies in an area known as Tornado Alley characterized by frequent interaction between cold dry air from Canada warm to hot dry air from Mexico and the Southwestern U S and warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico The interactions between these three contrasting air currents produces severe weather severe thunderstorms damaging thunderstorm winds large hail and tornadoes with a frequency virtually unseen anywhere else on planet Earth 80 An average 62 tornadoes strike the state per year one of the highest rates in the world 97 Because of Oklahoma s position between zones of differing prevailing temperature and winds weather patterns within the state can vary widely over relatively short distances and they can change drastically in a short time 80 On November 11 1911 the temperature at Oklahoma City reached 83 F 28 C the record high for that date then a cold front of unprecedented intensity slammed across the state causing the temperature to reach 17 F 8 C the record low for that date by midnight 98 This type of phenomenon is also responsible for many of the tornadoes in the area such as the 1912 Oklahoma tornado outbreak when a warm front traveled along a stalled cold front resulting in an average of about one tornado per hour 99 The humid subtropical climate Koppen Cfa of central southern and eastern Oklahoma is influenced heavily by southerly winds bringing moisture from the Gulf of Mexico Traveling westward the climate transitions progressively toward a semi arid zone Koppen BSk in the high plains of the Panhandle and other western areas from about Lawton westward less frequently touched by southern moisture 96 Precipitation and temperatures decline from east to west accordingly with areas in the southeast averaging an annual temperature of 62 F 17 C and an annual rainfall of generally over 40 in 1 020 mm and up to 56 in 1 420 mm while areas of the higher elevation panhandle average 58 F 14 C with an annual rainfall under 17 in 430 mm 100 Over almost all of Oklahoma winter is the driest season Average monthly precipitation increases dramatically in the spring to a peak in May the wettest month over most of the state with its frequent and not uncommonly severe thunderstorm activity Early June can still be wet but most years see a marked decrease in rainfall during June and early July Mid summer July and August represents a secondary dry season over much of Oklahoma with long stretches of hot weather with only sporadic thunderstorm activity not uncommon many years Severe drought is common in the hottest summers such as those of 1934 1954 1980 and 2011 all of which featured weeks on end of virtual rainlessness and highs well over 100 F 38 C Average precipitation rises again from September to mid October representing a secondary wetter season then declines from late October through December 80 The entire state frequently experiences temperatures above 100 F 38 C or below 0 F 18 C 96 though below zero temperatures are rare in south central and southeastern Oklahoma Snowfall ranges from an average of less than 4 in 102 mm in the south to just over 20 in 508 mm on the border of Colorado in the panhandle 80 The state is home to the Storm Prediction Center the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the Warning Decision Training Division all part of the National Weather Service and in Norman 101 Monthly temperatures for Oklahoma s largest cities 102 103 City Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov DecOklahoma City Avg high 50 F 10 C 55 F 13 C 63 F 17 C 73 F 23 C 80 F 27 C 88 F 31 C 94 F 34 C 93 F 34 C 85 F 29 C 73 F 23 C 62 F 17 C 51 F 11 C Avg low 29 F 2 C 33 F 1 C 41 F 5 C 50 F 10 C 60 F 16 C 68 F 20 C 72 F 22 C 71 F 22 C 63 F 17 C 52 F 11 C 40 F 4 C 31 F 1 C Tulsa Avg high 48 F 9 C 53 F 12 C 62 F 17 C 72 F 22 C 79 F 26 C 88 F 31 C 93 F 34 C 93 F 34 C 84 F 29 C 73 F 23 C 61 F 16 C 49 F 9 C Avg low 27 F 3 C 31 F 1 C 40 F 4 C 49 F 9 C 59 F 15 C 68 F 20 C 73 F 23 C 71 F 22 C 62 F 17 C 51 F 11 C 40 F 4 C 30 F 1 C Lawton Avg high 50 F 10 C 56 F 13 C 65 F 18 C 73 F 23 C 82 F 28 C 90 F 32 C 96 F 36 C 95 F 35 C 86 F 30 C 76 F 24 C 62 F 17 C 52 F 11 C Avg low 26 F 3 C 31 F 1 C 40 F 4 C 49 F 9 C 59 F 15 C 68 F 20 C 73 F 23 C 71 F 22 C 63 F 17 C 51 F 11 C 39 F 4 C 30 F 1 C Demographics EditMain article Demographics of Oklahoma The people of Oklahoma can be of any race or ethnicity An Oklahoman is a resident native or cultural descendant of Oklahoma Population Edit Oklahoma population density map Historical populationCensus Pop 1890258 657 1900790 391205 6 19101 657 155109 7 19202 028 28322 4 19302 396 04018 1 19402 336 434 2 5 19502 233 351 4 4 19602 328 2844 3 19702 559 2299 9 19803 025 29018 2 19903 145 5854 0 20003 450 6549 7 20103 751 3518 7 20203 959 3535 5 2022 est 4 019 8001 5 U S Decennial Census 104 Map of counties in Oklahoma by racial plurality per the 2020 U S censusLegend Non Hispanic White 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 Native American 40 50 50 60 Hispanic or Latino 50 60 The United States Census Bureau estimates Oklahoma s population was 3 963 516 during the 2020 United States census a 5 66 increase since the 2010 United States census 105 In 2010 the center of population of Oklahoma was in Lincoln County near the town of Sparks 106 The state s 2006 per capita personal income ranked 37th at 32 210 though it has the third fastest growing per capita income in the U S 107 Oklahoma ranks consistently among the lowest states in cost of living index 108 In 2011 7 0 of Oklahomans were under the age of 5 24 7 under 18 and 13 7 were 65 or older Females made up 50 5 of the population 109 Race and ethnicity Edit As of the 2010 census 72 2 of the population was white 8 6 American Indian and Alaska Native 7 4 black or African American 1 7 Asian 0 1 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 4 1 from some other race and 5 9 of two or more races 8 9 of Oklahoma s population were of Hispanic Latino or Spanish origin they may be of any race Historical racial demographics Racial composition 1940 110 1970 110 1990 110 2010 111 White 90 1 89 1 81 72 2 Hispanic 2 7 8 9 Native 2 7 3 8 8 8 6 Black 7 2 6 7 7 4 7 4 Asian IncludedPacific Islanders before 1990 0 1 1 1 1 7 Native Hawaiian andother Pacific Islander 0 1 Other race 0 2 1 3 4 1 Two or more races 5 9 Oklahoma racial composition by ethnicity without Two or more races category Racial composition 2010 112 2020 112 White 77 5 75 5 Hispanic 8 9 11 9 Native 12 9 16 Black 8 7 9 7 Asian 2 2 3 1 Native Hawaiian andother Pacific Islander 0 2 0 4 Other race 4 7 9 In 2005 Oklahoma s estimated ancestral makeup was 14 5 German 13 1 American 11 8 Irish 9 6 English 8 1 African American and 11 4 Native American including 7 9 Cherokee 113 though the percentage of people claiming American Indian as their only race was 8 1 114 Most people from Oklahoma who self identify as having American ancestry are of overwhelmingly English and Scots Irish ancestry with significant amounts of Scottish Welsh and Irish inflection as well 115 116 Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas teal In 2011 47 3 of Oklahoma s population younger than age 1 were minorities meaning they had at least one parent who was not non Hispanic white 117 In 2011 U S Census Bureau American Community Survey data from 2005 to 2009 indicated about 5 of Oklahoma s residents were born outside the United States This is lower than the national figure about 12 5 of U S residents were foreign born 118 Cities and towns Edit The state is in the U S Census Southern region According to the 2020 United States census Oklahoma is the 28th most populous state with 3 963 516 inhabitants but the 19th largest by land area spanning 68 594 92 square miles 177 660 0 km2 of land 119 In 2010 Oklahoma was divided into 77 counties and contains 597 incorporated municipalities consisting of cities and towns 120 In Oklahoma cities are all those incorporated communities which are 1 000 or more in population and are incorporated as cities 121 Towns are limited to town board type of municipal government Cities may choose among aldermanic mayoral council manager and home rule charter types of government 122 Cities may also petition to incorporate as towns 123 The Oklahoma City suburb Nichols Hills is first on Oklahoma locations by per capita income at 73 661 though Tulsa County holds the highest average 124 125 Largest cities or towns in Oklahoma Source 2020 126 Rank Name County Pop Oklahoma City Tulsa 1 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 681 054 Norman Broken Arrow2 Tulsa Tulsa 413 0663 Norman Cleveland 128 0264 Broken Arrow Tulsa 113 5405 Edmond Oklahoma 94 4286 Lawton Comanche 90 3817 Moore Cleveland 62 7938 Midwest City Oklahoma 58 4099 Enid Garfield 51 30810 Stillwater Payne 48 394 Language Edit source source Recording of a Cherokee language stomp dance ceremony in Oklahoma Located in Tahlequah this stop sign includes Cherokee lettering English Edit The English language has been official in the state of Oklahoma since 2010 127 The variety of North American English spoken is called Oklahoma English and this dialect is quite diverse with its uneven blending of features of North Midland South Midland and Southern dialects 128 In 2000 2 977 187 Oklahomans 92 6 of the resident population five years or older spoke only English at home a decrease from 95 in 1990 128 238 732 Oklahoma residents reported speaking a language other than English at home in the 2000 census about 7 4 of the state s population 128 Native American languages Edit The two most commonly spoken native North American languages are Cherokee and Choctaw with 10 000 Cherokee speakers living within the Cherokee Nation tribal jurisdiction area of eastern Oklahoma and another 10 000 Choctaw speakers living in the Choctaw Nation directly south of the Cherokees 129 Cherokee is an official language in the Cherokee Nation tribal jurisdiction area and in the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians 4 5 6 Twenty five Native American languages are spoken in Oklahoma 31 second only to California However only Cherokee if any exhibits some language vitality at present Ethnologue sees Cherokee as moribund because the only remaining active users of the language are members of the grandparent generation and older Other languages Edit Top 10 non English languages spoken in Oklahoma Language Percentage of population as of 2000 update 128 Spanish 4 4 Native North American languages 0 6 German and Vietnamese tied 0 4 French 0 3 Chinese 0 2 Korean Arabic Tagalog Japanese tied 0 1 Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the state with 141 060 speakers counted in 2000 128 German has 13 444 speakers representing about 0 4 of the state s population 128 and Vietnamese is spoken by 11 330 people 128 or about 0 4 of the population 128 many of whom live in the Asia District of Oklahoma City Other languages include French with 8 258 speakers 0 3 Chinese with 6 413 0 2 Korean with 3 948 0 1 Arabic with 3 265 0 1 other Asian languages with 3 134 0 1 Tagalog with 2 888 0 1 Japanese with 2 546 0 1 and African languages with 2 546 0 1 128 Religion Edit The Boston Avenue Methodist Church in Tulsa is a National Historic Landmark Oklahoma is part of a geographical region characterized by conservative and Evangelical Christianity known as the Bible Belt Spanning the southern and eastern parts of the United States the area is known for politically and socially conservative views with the Republican Party having the greater number of voters registered between the two parties 130 Tulsa the state s second largest city home to Oral Roberts University is sometimes called the buckle of the Bible Belt 131 132 In 2000 there were about 5 000 Jews and 6 000 Muslims with ten congregations to each group 133 According to the Pew Research Center in 2008 the majority of Oklahoma s religious adherents were Christian accounting for about 80 percent of the population The percentage of Catholics was half the national average while the percentage of Evangelical Protestants was more than twice the national average tied with Arkansas for the largest percentage of any state 134 The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City In 2010 the state s largest church memberships were in the Southern Baptist Convention 886 394 members the United Methodist Church 282 347 the Roman Catholic Church 178 430 and the Assemblies of God 85 926 and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Mormons 135 47 349 Other religions represented in the state include Buddhism Hinduism and Islam 136 According to the Pew Research Center in 2014 the majority of Oklahoma s religious adherents were Christian accounting for 79 percent of the population 9 percent higher than the national average 137 The percentage of Evangelical Protestants declined since the last study but they remain the largest religious group in the state at 47 percent over 20 percent higher than the national average 137 The largest growth over the six years between Pew s 2008 and 2014 survey was in the number of people who identify as Unaffiliated in the state with an increase of 6 percent Religious Affiliation in Oklahoma Religion 2008 133 b 2014 138 Evangelical Protestant 53 47 Mainline Protestant 16 18 Historically Black Protestant 3 4 Catholic 12 8 Mormon lt 0 5 1 Orthodox Christianity lt 0 5 lt 1 Jehovah s Witness lt 0 5 lt 1 Other Christians 1 lt 1 Jewish 1 lt 1 Muslim lt 0 5 lt 1 Buddhist 1 lt 1 Hindu lt 0 5 lt 1 Other World Faiths lt 0 5 lt 1 Unaffiliated Atheist Agnostic and nothing in particular 12 18 Unitarians Humanists Deists Spiritual but not religious Eclectic and other liberal faiths No data lt 1 New Age religion Pagans or Wiccan No data lt 1 Native American religions No data lt 1 Don t Know 1 1 Incarceration Edit Oklahoma has been described as the world s prison capital with 1 079 of every 100 000 residents imprisoned in 2018 the highest incarceration rate of any state and by comparison higher than the incarceration rates of any country in the world 139 140 Economy EditMain article Economy of Oklahoma See also Oklahoma locations by per capita income The BOK Tower of Tulsa Oklahoma s second tallest building serves as the world headquarters for Williams Companies Oklahoma is host to a diverse range of sectors including aviation energy transportation equipment food processing electronics and telecommunications Oklahoma is an important producer of natural gas aircraft and food 32 The state ranks third in the nation for production of natural gas is the 27th most agriculturally productive state and also ranks 5th in production of wheat 141 Four Fortune 500 companies and six Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in Oklahoma 142 and it has been rated one of the most business friendly states in the nation 143 with the 7th lowest tax burden in 2007 144 Total employment 2018 1 385 228 Number of employer establishments 93 561 145 In 2010 Oklahoma City based Love s Travel Stops amp Country Stores ranked 18th on the Forbes list of largest private companies Tulsa based QuikTrip ranked 37th and Oklahoma City based Hobby Lobby ranked 198th in 2010 report 146 Oklahoma s gross domestic product grew from 131 9 billion in 2006 to 147 5 billion in 2010 a jump of 10 6 percent 147 Oklahoma s gross domestic product per capita was 35 480 in 2010 which was ranked 40th among the states 148 Though oil has historically dominated the state s economy a collapse in the energy industry during the 1980s led to the loss of nearly 90 000 energy related jobs between 1980 and 2000 severely damaging the local economy 149 Oil accounted for 35 billion dollars in Oklahoma s economy in 2007 150 and employment in the state s oil industry was outpaced by five other industries in 2007 151 As of September 2020 update the state s unemployment rate is 5 3 152 Industry Edit In mid 2011 Oklahoma had a civilian labor force of 1 7 million and non farm employment fluctuated around 1 5 million 151 The government sector provides the most jobs with 339 300 in 2011 followed by the transportation and utilities sector providing 279 500 jobs and the sectors of education business and manufacturing providing 207 800 177 400 and 132 700 jobs respectively 151 Among the state s largest industries the aerospace sector generates 11 billion annually 143 Tulsa is home to the largest airline maintenance base in the world which serves as the global maintenance and engineering headquarters for American Airlines 153 In total aerospace accounts for more than 10 percent of Oklahoma s industrial output and it is one of the top 10 states in aerospace engine manufacturing 32 Because of its position in the center of the United States Oklahoma is also among the top states for logistic centers and a major contributor to weather related research 143 The state is the top manufacturer of tires in North America and contains one of the fastest growing biotechnology industries in the nation 143 In 2005 international exports from Oklahoma s manufacturing industry totaled 4 3 billion accounting for 3 6 percent of its economic impact 154 Tire manufacturing meat processing oil and gas equipment manufacturing and air conditioner manufacturing are the state s largest manufacturing industries 155 Energy Edit A major oil producing state Oklahoma is the fifth largest producer of crude oil in the United States 150 Oklahoma is the nation s third largest producer of natural gas and its fifth largest producer of crude oil The state also has the second greatest number of active drilling rigs 150 156 and it is even ranked fifth in crude oil reserves 157 While the state was ranked eighth for installed wind energy capacity in 2011 158 it still was at the bottom of states in usage of renewable energy in 2009 with 94 of its electricity being generated by non renewable sources in 2009 including 25 from coal and 46 from natural gas 159 Ten years later in 2019 53 5 of electricity was produced from natural gas and 34 6 from wind power 160 Oklahoma has no nuclear power plants Ranking 13th for total energy consumption per capita in 2009 161 the state s energy costs were eighth lowest in the nation 162 As a whole the oil energy industry contributes 35 billion to Oklahoma s gross domestic product GDP and employees of the state s oil related companies earn an average of twice the state s typical yearly income 150 In 2009 the state had 83 700 commercial oil wells churning 65 374 million barrels 10 393 600 m3 of crude oil 163 8 5 of the nation s natural gas supply is held in Oklahoma with 1 673 trillion cubic feet 47 4 km3 being produced in 2009 163 The Oklahoma Stack Play is a geographic referenced area in the Anadarko Basin The oil field Sooner Trend Anadarko basin and the counties of Kingfisher and Canadian make up the basis for the Oklahoma STACK Other Plays such as the Eagle Ford are geological rather than geographical 164 According to Forbes magazine Oklahoma City based Devon Energy Corporation Chesapeake Energy Corporation and SandRidge Energy Corporation are the largest private oil related companies in the nation 165 and all Oklahoma s Fortune 500 companies are energy related 142 Tulsa s ONEOK and Williams Companies are the state s largest and second largest companies respectively also ranking as the nation s second and third largest companies in the field of energy according to Fortune magazine 166 The magazine also placed Devon Energy as the second largest company in the mining and crude oil producing industry in the nation while Chesapeake Energy ranks seventh respectively in that sector and Oklahoma Gas amp Electric ranks as the 25th largest gas and electric utility company 166 Oklahoma Gas amp Electric commonly referred to as OG amp E NYSE OGE operates four base electric power plants in Oklahoma Two of them are coal fired power plants one in Muskogee and the other in Red Rock Two are gas fired power plants one in Harrah and the other in Konawa OG amp E was the first electric company in Oklahoma to generate electricity from wind farms in 2003 167 Wind generation Edit Main article Wind power in Oklahoma Agriculture Edit The 27th most agriculturally productive state Oklahoma is fifth in cattle production and fifth in production of wheat 141 168 Approximately 5 5 percent of American beef comes from Oklahoma while the state produces 6 1 percent of American wheat 4 2 percent of American pig products and 2 2 percent of dairy products 141 The state had 85 500 farms in 2012 collectively producing 4 3 billion in animal products and fewer than one billion dollars in crop output with more than 6 1 billion added to the state s gross domestic product 141 Poultry and swine are its second and third largest agricultural industries 168 Education EditSee also List of school districts in Oklahoma and List of colleges and universities in Oklahoma Oklahoma s system of public regional universities includes Northeastern State University in Tahlequah With an educational system made up of public school districts and independent private institutions Oklahoma had 638 817 students enrolled in 1 845 public primary secondary and vocational schools in 533 school districts as of 2008 update 169 Oklahoma has the highest enrollment of Native American students in the nation with 126 078 students in the 2009 10 school year 170 Oklahoma spent 7 755 for each student in 2008 and was 47th in the nation in expenditures per student 169 though its growth of total education expenditures between 1992 and 2002 ranked 22nd 171 The state is among the best in pre kindergarten education and the National Institute for Early Education Research rated it first in the United States with regard to standards quality and access to pre kindergarten education in 2004 calling it a model for early childhood schooling 172 High school dropout rate decreased from 3 1 to 2 5 percent between 2007 and 2008 with Oklahoma ranked among 18 other states with 3 percent or less dropout rate 173 In 2004 the state ranked 36th in the nation for the relative number of adults with high school diplomas though at 85 2 percent it had the highest rate among Southern states 174 175 According to a study conducted by the Pell Institute Oklahoma ranks 48th in college participation for low income students 176 The University of Oklahoma Oklahoma State University the University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State University are the largest public institutions of higher education in Oklahoma each operating through one primary campus and satellite campuses throughout the state The two state universities along with Oklahoma City University and the University of Tulsa rank among the country s best in undergraduate business programs 177 Oklahoma City University School of Law University of Oklahoma College of Law and University of Tulsa College of Law are the state s only ABA accredited institutions Both University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa are Tier 1 institutions with the University of Oklahoma ranked 68th and the University of Tulsa ranked 86th in the nation 178 Oklahoma holds eleven public regional universities 179 including Northeastern State University the second oldest institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River 180 also containing the only College of Optometry in Oklahoma 181 and the largest enrollment of Native American students in the nation by percentage and amount 180 182 Langston University is Oklahoma s only historically black college Six of the state s universities were placed in the Princeton Review s list of best 122 regional colleges in 2007 183 and three made the list of top colleges for best value The state has 55 post secondary technical institutions operated by Oklahoma s CareerTech program for training in specific fields of industry or trade 169 In the 2007 2008 school year there were 181 973 undergraduate students 20 014 graduate students and 4 395 first professional degree students enrolled in Oklahoma colleges Of these students 18 892 received a bachelor s degree 5 386 received a master s degree and 462 received a first professional degree This means the state of Oklahoma produces an average of 38 278 degree holders per completions component i e July 1 2007 June 30 2008 National average is 68 322 total degrees awarded per completions component 184 Beginning on April 2 2018 tens of thousands of K 12 public school teachers went on strike due to lack of funding According to the National Education Association teachers in Oklahoma had ranked 49th out of the 50 states in terms of teacher pay in 2016 The Oklahoma Legislature had passed a measure a week earlier to raise teacher salaries by 6 100 but it fell short of the 10 000 raise for teachers 5 000 raise for other school employees and 200 million increase in extra education funding many had sought 185 A survey in 2019 found that the pay raise obtained by the strike lifted the State s teacher pay ranking to 34th in the nation 186 Non English education Edit Writing in Cherokee The Cherokee Nation instigated a ten year plan in 2005 that involved growing new speakers of the Cherokee language from childhood as well as speaking it exclusively at home 187 The plan was part of an ambitious goal that in fifty years would have at least 80 of their people fluent 188 The Cherokee Preservation Foundation has invested 3 million into opening schools training teachers and developing curricula for language education as well as initiating community gatherings where the language can be actively used 188 A Cherokee language immersion school in Tahlequah Oklahoma educates students from pre school through eighth grade 189 Culture Edit The Pioneer Woman statue in Ponca City by Bryant Baker 1930 Oklahoma is placed in the South by the United States Census Bureau 28 but other definitions place the state at least partly in the Southwest Midwest 190 Upland South 191 and Great Plains 192 Oklahomans have a high rate of English Scotch Irish German and Native American ancestry 193 with 25 different native languages spoken 31 Because many Native Americans were forced to move to Oklahoma when White settlement in North America increased Oklahoma has much linguistic diversity Mary Linn an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma and the associate curator of Native American languages at the Sam Noble Museum notes Oklahoma also has high levels of language endangerment 194 Sixty seven Native American tribes are represented in Oklahoma 46 including 39 federally recognized tribes who are headquartered and have tribal jurisdictional areas in the state 195 Western ranchers Native American tribes Southern settlers and eastern oil barons have shaped the state s cultural predisposition and its largest cities have been named among the most underrated cultural destinations in the United States 196 Residents of Oklahoma are associated with traits of Southern hospitality the 2006 Catalogue for Philanthropy with data from 2004 ranks Oklahomans 7th in the nation for overall generosity 197 The state has also been associated with a negative cultural stereotype first popularized by John Steinbeck s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath which described the plight of uneducated poverty stricken Dust Bowl era farmers deemed Okies 198 199 While the term is often used in a positive manner by Oklahomans 198 it is still considered a derogatory term by many 200 Arts Edit Further information List of Native American artists from Oklahoma Philbrook Museum of Art one of the nation s top fifty 201 In the state s largest urban areas pockets of jazz culture flourish 202 and Native American Mexican American and Asian American communities produce music and art of their respective cultures 203 The Oklahoma Mozart Festival in Bartlesville is one of the largest classical music festivals on the southern plains 204 and Oklahoma City s Festival of the Arts has been named one of the top fine arts festivals in the nation 202 The state has a rich history in ballet with five Native American ballerinas attaining worldwide fame These were Yvonne Chouteau sisters Marjorie and Maria Tallchief Rosella Hightower and Moscelyne Larkin known collectively as the Five Moons The New York Times rates the Tulsa Ballet as one of the top ballet companies in the United States 202 The Oklahoma City Ballet and University of Oklahoma s dance program were formed by ballerina Yvonne Chouteau and husband Miguel Terekhov The university program was founded in 1962 and was the first fully accredited program of its kind in the United States 205 206 In Sand Springs an outdoor amphitheater called Discoveryland since closed is the official performance headquarters for the musical Oklahoma 207 Ridge Bond native of McAlester Oklahoma 208 starred in the Broadway and International touring productions of Oklahoma 209 210 211 212 playing the role of Curly McClain in more than 2 600 performances 209 213 In 1953 he was featured along with the Oklahoma cast on a CBS Omnibus television broadcast 213 Bond was instrumental in the Oklahoma title song becoming the Oklahoma state song 208 214 and is also featured on the U S postage stamp commemorating the musical s 50th anniversary 209 215 Historically the state has produced musical styles such as The Tulsa Sound and western swing which was popularized at Cain s Ballroom in Tulsa The building known as the Carnegie Hall of Western Swing 216 served as the performance headquarters of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys during the 1930s 217 Stillwater is known as the epicenter of Red Dirt music the best known proponent of which is the late Bob Childers Prominent theatre companies in Oklahoma include in the capital city Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma Oklahoma City Theatre Company Carpenter Square Theatre Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park and CityRep CityRep is a professional company affording equity points to those performers and technical theatre professionals In Tulsa Oklahoma s oldest resident professional company is American Theatre Company and Theatre Tulsa is the oldest community theatre company west of the Mississippi Other companies in Tulsa include Heller Theatre and Tulsa Spotlight Theater The cities of Norman Lawton and Stillwater among others also host well reviewed community theatre companies Oklahoma is in the nation s middle percentile in per capita spending on the arts ranking 17th and contains more than 300 museums 202 The Philbrook Museum of Tulsa is considered one of the top 50 fine art museums in the United States 201 and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History in Norman one of the largest university based art and history museums in the country documents the natural history of the region 202 The collections of Thomas Gilcrease are housed in the Gilcrease Museum of Tulsa which also holds the world s largest most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West 218 The Egyptian art collection at the Mabee Gerrer Museum of Art in Shawnee is considered to be the finest Egyptian collection between Chicago and Los Angeles 219 The Oklahoma City Museum of Art contains the most comprehensive collection of glass sculptures by artist Dale Chihuly in the world 220 and Oklahoma City s National Cowboy amp Western Heritage Museum documents the heritage of the American Western frontier 202 With remnants of the Holocaust and artifacts relevant to Judaism the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art of Tulsa preserves the largest collection of Jewish art in the Southwest United States 221 Festivals and events Edit National Powwow dancer of the Cherokee of Oklahoma 2007 Oklahoma s centennial celebration was named the top event in the United States for 2007 by the American Bus Association 222 and consisted of multiple celebrations saving with the 100th anniversary of statehood on November 16 2007 Annual ethnic festivals and events take place throughout the state such as Native American powwows and ceremonial events and include festivals as examples in Scottish Irish German Italian Vietnamese Chinese Czech Jewish Arab Mexican and African American communities depicting cultural heritage or traditions Oklahoma City is home to a few reoccurring events and festivals During a ten day run in Oklahoma City the State Fair of Oklahoma attracts roughly one million people 223 along with the annual Festival of the Arts Large national pow wows various Latin and Asian heritage festivals and cultural festivals such as the Juneteenth celebrations are held in Oklahoma City each year The Oklahoma City Pride Parade has been held annually in late June since 1987 in the gay district of Oklahoma City on 39th and Penn 224 The First Friday Art Walk in the Paseo Arts District is an art appreciation festival held the first Friday of every month 225 Additionally an annual art festival is held in the Paseo on Memorial Day Weekend 226 The Tulsa State Fair attracts more than a million people each year during its ten day run 227 and the city s Mayfest festival entertained more than 375 000 in four days during 2007 228 In 2006 Tulsa s Oktoberfest was named one of the top 10 in the world by USA Today Norman plays host to the Norman Music Festival a festival that highlights native Oklahoma bands and musicians Norman is also host to the Medieval Fair of Norman which has been held annually since 1976 and was Oklahoma s first medieval fair The Fair was held first on the south oval of the University of Oklahoma campus and in the third year moved to the Duck Pond in Norman until the Fair became too big and moved to Reaves Park in 2003 The Medieval Fair of Norman is Oklahoma s largest weekend event and the third largest event in Oklahoma and was selected by Events Media Network as one of the top 100 events in the nation 229 Sports Edit The Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association NBA is the state s only major league sports franchise The state had a team in the Women s National Basketball Association the Tulsa Shock from 2010 through 2015 but the team relocated to Dallas Fort Worth after that season 230 and became the Dallas Wings 231 Oklahoma has teams in several minor leagues including Minor League Baseball at the Triple A and Double A levels the Oklahoma City Dodgers and Tulsa Drillers respectively hockey s ECHL with the Tulsa Oilers and a number of indoor football leagues In the last named sport the state s most notable team was the Tulsa Talons which played in the Arena Football League until 2012 when the team was moved to San Antonio Texas The Oklahoma Defenders replaced the Talons as Tulsa s only professional arena football team playing the CPIFL The Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League relocated to Oklahoma City from Tulsa in 2014 where they were formerly known as the Tulsa 66ers Tulsa is the base for the Tulsa Revolution which plays in the American Indoor Soccer League 232 Enid and Lawton host professional basketball teams in the USBL and the CBA The Oklahoma City Thunder moved there in 2008 becoming its first permanent major league team in any sport Collegiate athletics are a popular draw in the state The state has four schools that compete at the highest level of college sports NCAA Division I The most prominent are the state s two members of the Big 12 Conference 233 one of the so called Power Five conferences of the top tier of college football Division I FBS The University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University average well over 50 000 fans attending their football games and Oklahoma s football program ranked 12th in attendance among American colleges in 2010 with an average of 84 738 people attending its home games 234 The two universities meet several times each year in rivalry matches known as the Bedlam Series which are some of the greatest sporting draws to the state Sports Illustrated magazine rates Oklahoma and Oklahoma State among the top colleges for athletics in the nation 235 236 Two private institutions in Tulsa the University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University are also Division I members Tulsa competes in FBS football and other sports in the American Athletic Conference 237 while Oral Roberts which does not sponsor football 238 is a member of the Summit League 239 In addition 12 of the state s smaller colleges and universities compete in NCAA Division II as members of three different conferences 240 241 242 and eight other Oklahoma institutions participate in the NAIA mostly within the Sooner Athletic Conference 243 Regular LPGA tournaments are held at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa and major championships for the PGA or LPGA have been played at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa Oak Tree Country Club in Oklahoma City and Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa 244 Rated one of the top golf courses in the nation Southern Hills has hosted five PGA Championships including one in 2022 and three U S Opens the most recent in 2001 245 Rodeos are popular throughout the state and Guymon in the state s panhandle hosts one of the largest in the nation 246 ESPN called Oklahoma City the center of the softball universe specifically referring to the fast pitch version in a 2020 story Oklahoma City is home to the governing body of the sport in the United States USA Softball which has its headquarters in a complex that also includes the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium It annually hosts the Women s College World Series the eight team final round of the NCAA Division I softball tournament 247 Wrestling is a sport with a strong tradition in Oklahoma Oklahoma State has the most NCAA national championships of any collegiate team with 34 with the Oklahoma Sooners having 7 NCAA wrestling titles The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is headquartered in Stillwater Oklahoma 248 Current professional teams Edit Basketball Club Type League Venue City Area Metro Region Oklahoma City Thunder Men s Basketball NBA Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City OKC MetroOklahoma City Blue Men s Basketball NBA G League Cox Convention Center Oklahoma City OKC MetroBaseball Club Type League Venue City Area Metro Region Oklahoma City Dodgers Baseball PCL Triple A Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City OKC MetroTulsa Drillers Baseball DAC Double A ONEOK Field Tulsa Tulsa MetroHockey Club Type League Venue City Area Metro Region Tulsa Oilers Hockey ECHL BOK Center Tulsa Tulsa MetroFootball Club Type League Venue City Area Metro Region Oklahoma Flying Aces Indoor Football CIF Stride Bank Center EnidOklahoma Thunder Football GDFL Bixby High School Bixby Tulsa MetroOklahoma City Bounty Hunters Football GDFL Putnam City Stadium Warr Acres OKC MetroSoccer Club Type League Venue City Area Metro Region FC Tulsa Men s Soccer USL ONEOK Field Tulsa Tulsa MetroTulsa Spirit Women s Soccer WPSL Union 8th Broken Arrow Tulsa MetroOklahoma City FC Women s Soccer WPSL Miller Stadium Oklahoma City OKC MetroOklahoma City Energy Men s Soccer USL Taft Stadium Oklahoma City OKC MetroRugby Club Type League Venue City Area Metro Region Tulsa Rugby Club Men s Rugby Division II Rugby Riverside Pitch Tulsa Tulsa MetroHealth Edit Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southwestern Regional Medical Center Tulsa Oklahoma was the 21st largest recipient of medical funding from the federal government in 2005 with health related federal expenditures in the state totaling 75 801 364 immunizations bioterrorism preparedness and health education were the top three most funded medical items 249 Instances of major diseases are near the national average in Oklahoma and the state ranks at or slightly above the rest of the country in percentage of people with asthma diabetes cancer and hypertension 249 In 2000 Oklahoma ranked 45th in physicians per capita and slightly below the national average in nurses per capita but was slightly above the national average in hospital beds per 100 000 people and above the national average in net growth of health services over a twelve year period 250 One of the worst states for percentage of insured people nearly 25 percent of Oklahomans between the age of 18 and 64 did not have health insurance in 2005 the fifth highest rate in the nation 251 Oklahomans are in the upper half of Americans in terms of obesity prevalence and the state is the 5th most obese in the nation with 30 3 percent of its population at or near obesity 252 Oklahoma ranked last among the 50 states in a 2007 study by the Commonwealth Fund on health care performance 253 The OU Medical Center Oklahoma s largest collection of hospitals is the only hospital in the state designated a Level I trauma center by the American College of Surgeons OU Medical Center is on the grounds of the Oklahoma Health Center in Oklahoma City the state s largest concentration of medical research facilities 254 255 The Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southwestern Regional Medical Center in Tulsa is one of four such regional facilities nationwide offering cancer treatment to the entire southwestern United States and is one of the largest cancer treatment hospitals in the country 256 The largest osteopathic teaching facility in the nation Oklahoma State University Medical Center at Tulsa also rates as one of the largest facilities in the field of neuroscience 257 258 On June 26 2018 Oklahoma made marijuana legal for medical purposes making it one of the most conservative states to approve medical marijuana 259 Life expectancy Edit The residents of Oklahoma have a lower life expectancy than the U S national average In 2014 males in Oklahoma lived an average of 73 7 years compared to a male national average of 76 7 years and females lived an average of 78 5 years compared to a female national average of 81 5 years Moreover increases in life expectancy have been below the national average Male life expectancy in Oklahoma between 1980 and 2014 increased by an average of 4 0 years compared to a male national average of a 6 7 year increase Life expectancy for females in Oklahoma between 1980 and 2014 increased by 1 0 years compared to a female national average of a 4 0 year increase 260 Using 2016 2018 data the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation calculated that life expectancy all sexes for Oklahoma counties ranged from 71 2 years for Okfuskee County to 79 7 years for Cimarron and Logan counties Life expectancy for the state as a whole was 76 0 years 261 Impact of Covid Edit As of December 22 2022 Oklahoma has been impacted more by the Covid pandemic 2020 than the average U S State Statistics for the U S as a whole are 331 deaths per 100 000 population with 68 percent of the population fully vaccinated The comparable statistics for Oklahoma are 405 deaths per 100 000 population with 59 percent of the population fully vaccinated 16 041 deaths from Covid have been recorded in Oklahoma A wide variation in deaths from Covid exists among Oklahoma counties Greer County recorded the highest death rate of 00753 753 deaths per 100 000 residents Payne County recorded the lowest death rate of 00231 231 deaths per 100 000 residents 262 Media EditMain articles List of newspapers in Oklahoma List of radio stations in Oklahoma and List of television stations in Oklahoma The second largest newspaper in Oklahoma the Tulsa World has a circulation of 189 789 263 Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the 45th and 61st largest media markets in the United States as ranked by Nielsen Media Research The state s third largest media market Lawton Wichita Falls Texas is ranked 149th nationally by the agency 264 Broadcast television in Oklahoma began in 1949 when KFOR TV then WKY TV in Oklahoma City and KOTV TV in Tulsa began broadcasting a few months apart 265 Currently all major American broadcast networks have affiliated television stations in the state 266 The state has two primary newspapers The Oklahoman based in Oklahoma City is the largest newspaper in the state and 54th largest in the nation by circulation with a weekday readership of 138 493 and a Sunday readership of 202 690 The Tulsa World the second most widely circulated newspaper in Oklahoma and 79th in the nation holds a Sunday circulation of 132 969 and a weekday readership of 93 558 263 Oklahoma s first newspaper was established in 1844 called the Cherokee Advocate and was written in both Cherokee and English 267 In 2006 there were more than 220 newspapers in the state including 177 with weekly publications and 48 with daily publications 267 The state s first radio station WKY in Oklahoma City began broadcasting in 1920 268 In 2006 there were more than 500 radio stations in Oklahoma broadcasting with various local or nationally owned networks Five universities in Oklahoma operate non commercial public radio stations networks 269 Oklahoma has a few ethnic oriented TV stations broadcasting in Spanish and Asian languages and there is some Native American programming TBN a Christian religious television network has a studio in Tulsa and built its first entirely TBN owned affiliate in Oklahoma City in 1980 270 Transportation Edit Road network and waterways of Oklahoma from the 1970 edition of the National Atlas Transportation in Oklahoma is generated by an anchor system of Interstate Highways inter city rail lines airports inland ports and mass transit networks Situated along an integral point in the United States Interstate network Oklahoma contains three primary Interstate highways and four auxiliary Interstate Highways In Oklahoma City Interstate 35 intersects with Interstate 44 and Interstate 40 forming one of the most important intersections along the United States highway system 271 More than 12 000 miles 19 000 km of roads make up the state s major highway skeleton including state operated highways ten turnpikes or major toll roads 271 and the longest drivable stretch of Route 66 in the nation 272 In 2008 Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City was Oklahoma s busiest highway with a daily traffic volume of 123 300 cars 273 In 2010 the state had the nation s third highest number of bridges classified as structurally deficient with nearly 5 212 bridges in disrepair including 235 National Highway System Bridges 274 Oklahoma s largest commercial airport is Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City averaging a yearly passenger count of more than 3 5 million 1 7 million boardings in 2010 275 Tulsa International Airport the state s second largest commercial airport served more than 1 3 million boardings in 2010 276 Between the two six airlines operate in Oklahoma 277 278 In terms of traffic R L Jones Jr Riverside Airport in Tulsa is the state s busiest airport with 335 826 takeoffs and landings in 2008 279 Oklahoma has more than 150 public use airports 280 Oklahoma is connected to the nation s rail network via Amtrak s Heartland Flyer its only regional passenger rail line It currently stretches from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth Texas though lawmakers began seeking funding in early 2007 to connect the Heartland Flyer to Tulsa 281 Two inland ports on rivers serve Oklahoma the Port of Muskogee and the Tulsa Port of Catoosa The Tulsa Port of Catoosa is the one of the United States most inland international ports at head of navigation of the McClellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System which connects barge traffic from Tulsa and Muskogee to the Mississippi River 282 The port ships over two million tons of goods annually and is a designated foreign trade zone Law and government EditMain article Government of Oklahoma The Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City Oklahoma is a constitutional republic with a government modeled after the federal government of the United States with executive legislative and judicial branches 283 The state has 77 counties with jurisdiction over most local government functions within each respective domain 79 five congressional districts and a voting base with a plurality in the Republican Party 284 State officials are elected by plurality voting in the state of Oklahoma Oklahoma has capital punishment as a legal sentence and the state has had between 1976 through mid 2011 the highest per capita execution rate in the nation 285 In a 2020 study Oklahoma was ranked as the 14th hardest state for citizens to vote in 286 State government Edit See also Governor of Oklahoma Oklahoma Legislature and Oklahoma Supreme Court The Legislature of Oklahoma consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives As the lawmaking branch of the state government it is responsible for raising and distributing the money necessary to run the government The Senate has 48 members serving four year terms while the House has 101 members with two year terms The state has a term limit for its legislature that restricts any one person to twelve cumulative years service between both legislative branches 287 288 Oklahoma s judicial branch consists of the Oklahoma Supreme Court the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals and 77 District Courts that each serve one county The Oklahoma judiciary also contains two independent courts a Court of Impeachment and the Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary Oklahoma has two courts of last resort the state Supreme Court hears civil cases and the state Court of Criminal Appeals hears criminal cases this split system exists only in Oklahoma and neighboring Texas Judges of those two courts as well as the Court of Civil Appeals are appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the state Judicial Nominating Commission and are subject to a non partisan retention vote on a six year rotating schedule 287 The five congressional districts of Oklahoma The executive branch consists of the Governor their staff and other elected officials The principal head of government the Governor is the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch serving as the ex officio Commander in chief of the Oklahoma National Guard when not called into Federal use and reserving the power to veto bills passed through the Legislature The responsibilities of the Executive branch include submitting the budget ensuring state laws are enforced and ensuring peace within the state is preserved 289 Local government Edit See also List of counties in Oklahoma The state is divided into 77 counties that govern locally each headed by a three member council of elected commissioners a tax assessor clerk court clerk treasurer and sheriff 290 While each municipality operates as a separate and independent local government with executive legislative and judicial power county governments maintain jurisdiction over both incorporated cities and non incorporated areas within their boundaries and have executive power but no legislative or judicial power Both county and municipal governments collect taxes employ a separate police force hold elections and operate emergency response services within their jurisdiction 291 292 Other local government units include school districts technology center districts community college districts rural fire departments rural water districts and other special use districts Thirty nine Native American tribal governments are based in Oklahoma each holding limited powers within designated areas While Indian reservations are typical in most of the United States they are not present in Oklahoma tribal governments hold land granted during the Indian Territory era but with limited jurisdiction and no control over state governing bodies such as municipalities and counties Tribal governments are recognized by the United States as quasi sovereign entities with executive judicial and legislative powers over tribal members and functions but are subject to the authority of the United States Congress to revoke or withhold certain powers The tribal governments are required to submit a constitution and any subsequent amendments to the United States Congress for approval 293 294 Oklahoma has 11 substate districts including the two large Councils of Governments INCOG in Tulsa Indian Nations Council of Governments and ACOG Association of Central Oklahoma Governments National politics Edit Further information Political party strength in Oklahoma United States presidential election results for Oklahoma 295 Year Republican Democratic Third partyNo No No 2020 1 020 280 65 37 503 890 32 29 36 529 2 34 2016 949 136 65 32 420 375 28 93 83 481 5 75 2012 891 325 66 77 443 547 33 23 0 0 00 2008 960 165 65 65 502 496 34 35 0 0 00 2004 959 792 65 57 503 966 34 43 0 0 00 2000 744 337 60 31 474 276 38 43 15 616 1 27 1996 582 315 48 26 488 105 40 45 136 293 11 29 1992 592 929 42 65 473 066 34 02 324 364 23 33 1988 678 367 57 93 483 423 41 28 9 246 0 79 1984 861 530 68 61 385 080 30 67 9 066 0 72 1980 695 570 60 50 402 026 34 97 52 112 4 53 1976 545 708 49 96 532 442 48 75 14 101 1 29 1972 759 025 73 70 247 147 24 00 23 728 2 30 1968 449 697 47 68 301 658 31 99 191 731 20 33 1964 412 665 44 25 519 834 55 75 0 0 00 1960 533 039 59 02 370 111 40 98 0 0 00 1956 473 769 55 13 385 581 44 87 0 0 00 1952 518 045 54 59 430 939 45 41 0 0 00 1948 268 817 37 25 452 782 62 75 0 0 00 1944 319 424 44 20 401 549 55 57 1 663 0 23 1940 348 872 42 23 474 313 57 41 3 027 0 37 1936 245 122 32 69 501 069 66 83 3 549 0 47 1932 188 165 26 70 516 468 73 30 0 0 00 1928 394 046 63 72 219 174 35 44 5 207 0 84 1924 226 242 42 82 255 798 48 41 46 375 8 78 1920 243 831 50 11 217 053 44 61 25 726 5 29 1916 97 233 33 25 148 113 50 65 47 070 16 10 1912 90 786 35 77 119 156 46 95 43 859 17 28 1908 110 474 43 33 122 363 47 99 22 146 8 69 Main article Politics of Oklahoma Party registration by county January 2018 Democrat gt 40 Democrat gt 50 Democrat gt 60 Democrat gt 70 Republican gt 40 Republican gt 50 Republican gt 60 Republican gt 70 Treemap of the popular vote by county 2016 presidential election During the first half century of statehood Oklahoma was considered a Democratic stronghold being carried by the Republican Party in only two presidential elections 1920 and 1928 After the 1948 election the state turned firmly Republican Although registered Republicans were a minority in the state until 2015 296 Oklahoma has been carried by Republican presidential candidates in all but one election since 1952 Lyndon B Johnson s 1964 landslide victory Every single county in the state has been won by the Republican candidate in each election since 2004 Oklahoma City was the largest city in the United States carried by Republican Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections Democrats are strongest in the eastern part of the state and Little Dixie as well as the most heavily African American and inner parts of Oklahoma City and Tulsa With a population of 8 6 Native American in the state it is also worth noting that most Native American precincts vote Democratic in margins exceeded only by African Americans 297 Following the 2000 census the Oklahoma delegation to the U S House of Representatives was reduced from six to five representatives each serving one congressional district In the current Congress Republicans comprise Oklahoma s entire delegation Voter registration and party enrollment As of October 31 2022 update 298 Party Number of voters PercentageRepublican 1 175 253 51 19 Democratic 687 545 29 95 Libertarian 19 780 0 86 No affiliation Other 413 328 18 00 Total 2 295 906 100 Military Edit Further information List of military units and installations in Oklahoma Further information List of battles fought in OklahomaCities and towns EditSee also List of cities in Oklahoma List of towns in Oklahoma and List of towns and cities in Oklahoma by population Major cities Edit Oklahoma City is the state s capital and largest city Oklahoma had 598 incorporated places in 2010 including four cities over 100 000 in population and 43 over 10 000 299 Two of the fifty largest cities in the United States are in Oklahoma Oklahoma City and Tulsa and sixty five percent of Oklahomans live within their metropolitan areas or spheres of economic and social influence defined by the United States Census Bureau as a metropolitan statistical area Oklahoma City the state s capital and largest city had the largest metropolitan area in the state in 2020 with 1 425 695 people and the metropolitan area of Tulsa had 1 015 331 residents 300 Between 2000 and 2010 the leading cities in population growth were Blanchard 172 4 Elgin 78 2 Jenks 77 0 Piedmont 56 7 Bixby 56 6 and Owasso 56 3 299 Tulsa is the state s second largest city by population and by land area In descending order of population Oklahoma s largest cities in 2010 were Oklahoma City 579 999 14 6 Tulsa 391 906 0 3 Norman 110 925 15 9 Broken Arrow 98 850 32 0 Lawton 96 867 4 4 Edmond 81 405 19 2 Moore 55 081 33 9 Midwest City 54 371 0 5 Enid 49 379 5 0 and Stillwater 45 688 17 0 Of the state s ten largest cities three are outside the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City and Tulsa and only Lawton has a metropolitan statistical area of its own as designated by the United States Census Bureau though the metropolitan statistical area of Fort Smith Arkansas extends into the state 124 Under Oklahoma law municipalities are divided into two categories cities defined as having more than 1 000 residents and towns with under 1 000 residents Both have legislative judicial and public power within their boundaries but cities can choose between a mayor council council manager or strong mayor form of government while towns operate through an elected officer system 291 The American bison is Oklahoma s state mammal State symbols EditSee also List of Oklahoma state symbols State law codifies Oklahoma s state emblems and honorary positions 301 the Oklahoma Senate or House of Representatives may adopt resolutions designating others for special events and to benefit organizations In 2012 the House passed HCR 1024 which would change the state motto from Labor Omnia Vincit to Oklahoma In God We Trust The author of the resolution stated a constituent researched the Oklahoma Constitution and found no official vote regarding Labor Omnia Vincit therefore opening the door for an entirely new motto 302 303 See also Edit Oklahoma portal United States portalIndex of Oklahoma related articles Outline of OklahomaNotes Edit Choctaw official within Choctaw Nation Cherokee official within Cherokee Nation and UKB Determined by a survey by the Pew Research Center in 2008 Percentages represent claimed religious beliefs not necessarily membership in any particular congregation Figures have a 5 percent margin of error 134 References Edit a b Elevations and Distances in the United States United States Geological Survey 2001 Archived from the original on October 15 2011 Retrieved October 24 2011 a b Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988 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