Population Growth for OKC

[BG918]

Metros ranked by % increase from 2022-23. OKC at #11, Tulsa at #13

[unfundedrick]

The most surprising to me in that chart is the relatively moderate growth in Denver, Las Vegas, and Kansas City

[BDP]

Metros ranked by % increase from 2022-23. OKC at #11, Tulsa at #13

What that shows is that OKC's growth rate was 18% higher rate than Tulsa's growth rate during that time (1.04% vs. 1.23%)

And, because the base for that percentage growth is higher in OKC by about 40%, the result is that OKC's gross growth in population was about 67% more than Tulsa's during that time.

But we're literally talking about 7,000 people, so the comparison is stupid on its face to begin with.

[BG918]

DFW at 8.1M! That’s basically the population of the entire state of Oklahoma x 2.

[BDP]

The most surprising to me in that chart is the relatively moderate growth in Denver, Las Vegas, and Kansas City

Exactly. All grew by less percentage, but by more people.

[G.Walker]

Metros ranked by % increase from 2022-23. OKC at #11, Tulsa at #13

It's crazy how Florida and Texas just dominates the top 10!

[G.Walker]

Metros ranked by % increase from 2022-23. OKC at #11, Tulsa at #13

It's crazy how Florida and Texas just dominates the top 10!

[PoliSciGuy]

Metros ranked by % increase from 2022-23. OKC at #11, Tulsa at #13

Holy smokes, OKC being just behind Nashville really puts our growth in context given how quickly that region is taking off

[Anonymous.]

It's crazy how Florida and Texas just dominates the top 10!

Weather has taken a huge priority in most people's QOL. Especially since the internet easily connects us to everything. If OKC had better weather, we would be right there with TX, but unfortunately winters here are still pretty bad relative to the TX cities.

[Dob Hooligan]

Weather has taken a huge priority in most people's QOL. Especially since the internet easily connects us to everything. If OKC had better weather, we would be right there with TX, but unfortunately winters here are still pretty bad relative to the TX cities.

I think the DFW and OKC weather is almost identical. I'm guessing the average high temperature is one degree warmer in DFW than in OKC.

Now, that arctic region that is Tulsa I might agree with.

[Pete]

I think the DFW and OKC weather is almost identical. I'm guessing the average high temperature is one degree warmer in DFW than in OKC.

Now, that arctic region that is Tulsa I might agree with.

We get bad ice storms and some real snow, and both are quite rare in DFW.

[Jake]

I think the DFW and OKC weather is almost identical. I'm guessing the average high temperature is one degree warmer in DFW than in OKC.

I think there are several other reasons why Oklahoma/OKC will likely never be "right there" with Texas in terms of growth.

[Pete]

The MSA numbers are really much more important. Those incorporate all the areas around a city, and OKC will always fare less well in those metrics because most cities are much smaller geographically.

As you can see, our MSA has been growing at about 1-1.5% per annum, and that trend seems to be continuing:

[BoulderSooner]

the current rate of grow projected for the rest of the decade .. and onward

2030 1,596,778
2040 1,788,391
2050 2,002,998
2060 2,243,358
2070 2,512561

[Dob Hooligan]

We get bad ice storms and some real snow, and both are quite rare in DFW.

I think our snow and ice occurrences are very similar. The only concession I might make is that DFW becomes more paralyzed by ice, but that is probably due to their sheer size and lack of icy road treating equipment.

[bison34]

I like the sustainable growth. Nashville, DFW, Austin, Portland, all had/have hyper-growth, and their infrastructure has failed them. OKC may not have explosive growth annually, but it is growing, and in a sustainable way that makes the future not look like a stop and go madhouse with super inflation.

[Snowman]

I think our snow and ice occurrences are very similar. The only concession I might make is that DFW becomes more paralyzed by ice, but that is probably due to their sheer size and lack of icy road treating equipment.

One complicating factor I could see for winter weather in DFW is their junctures tend to have more bridges levels, bridges spanning longer distances, and have higher percentage of those bridge sections with elevation change or curves. People may complain about cloverleafs remaining when ODOT upgrades a juncture, but they should be more resistant to winter weather than configurations with more flyovers. Though on average having longer traffic rush windows probable does not help with that either.

[LocoAko]

Meteorologist and weather data nerd here. For anyone interested --

For the 1973-2024 period, OKC averaged 70.7 hours of snow being reported and 15.1 hours of freezing rain being reported annually, with an average annual snowfall total of 9.7 inches. For the same period, DFW averaged only 17.8 hours of snow being reported and 5.5 hours of freezing rain, with an average annual snowfall of 2.6 inches. Heavy snow was rare at both locations. Unfortunately, ice pellets are harder to automatically detect so the record statistics aren't as robust.



In addition to precipitation, during the winter months, the median difference between OKC and DFW's temperature is -8F, and the median difference in their windchill is -10F.



It is ultimately subjective (the winter weather statistics are both sites would get a laugh from folks in the upper Midwest after all), but I think there's a solid case to be made that the ice/snow/cold in OKC is appreciably worse than it is in DFW, even if it is isn't particularly bad at either location. It isn't uncommon for cold fronts to make it down to the Red River area but not clear the metroplex.

[BG918]

^ Look at the USDA Hardiness Map. Dallas is in Zone 8 while most of Oklahoma is Zone 7, more similar to Tennessee/Kentucky while Dallas is more like Georgia and NC.

[unfundedrick]

Exactly. All grew by less percentage, but by more people.

No, the chart shows that Las Vegas and Kansas City grew by less in number of people also. That makes me wonder about accuracy.

[BDP]

No, the chart shows that Las Vegas and Kansas City grew by less in number of people also. That makes me wonder about accuracy.

You're right. My bad. I must have assumed it'd be more based on those markets, but didn't actually look. Not smart on my part.

And even though it was slightly more people, the Denver one actually surprises me the most. I'm less familiar with KC and LV to some extent, but Denver seems like it adds 18k a month. lol

[Bellaboo]

The humidity in the Metroplex is killer in the summer compared to OKC.

Where we might get 20 days a year at or over 100 degrees, they get much more. My relatives in Ft Worth complain all the time about it. Last summer it was so hot and dry that several houses in their neighborhood, including theirs had major cracking and foundation problems from it.

[BG918]

You're right. My bad. I must have assumed it'd be more based on those markets, but didn't actually look. Not smart on my part.

And even though it was slightly more people, the Denver one actually surprises me the most. I'm less familiar with KC and LV to some extent, but Denver seems like it adds 18k a month. lol

Denver used to, it's now bleeding people due to high costs and a host of other problems.

[Pete]

Denver used to, it's now bleeding people due to high costs and a host of other problems.

With the big shift toward work from home, it seems all high-priced cities are starting to see a lot of outflow.

I've said for a long time I thought OKC could be the next boomtown (following Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Vegas, Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte) and we just haven't got there yet, as in 2% annual growth. Maybe that's a good thing.

[Laramie]

Oklahoma Population 2024 - 4,088,377 - https://worldpopulationreview.com/st...oma-population

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Population - 2024 - 706,576 - https://worldpopulationreview.com/us...-ok-population

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Population - 2023 - 1,477,926 - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/OKCPOP