Couldn't find a thread dedicated to Tulsa's population, thus, I created one as I find it as important of a topic as any we discuss on this forum.

Link: Jenks is fastest-growing city in Oklahoma - Tulsa World: Bartlesville (http://www.tulsaworld.com/communities/bartlesville/jenks-is-fastest-growing-city-in-oklahoma/article_9258f949-1e96-58fd-8bf6-781c0a1ad0f6.html)

Tulsa is still trying it's best to stay under 400,000 it would seem. Obviously the drop from the 1990s-2000s had a severe effect on the population and it would appear over the last 5-10 years it's finally starting to recover and turn over on a consistent basis. While gaining over 1,200 residents, this translated to a meager 0.3% growth rate for the 2013-2014 time period.

As indicated, Jenks outpaced every city in the area with 6.8% growth, bumping them up to just shy of 20,000.
Broken Arrow sits comfortably as the largest suburb still with 104,726 residents, and posting 1,256 new residents for the time frame, a growth percentage translated only to 1.2%.

Tulsa's metro population still rests well under 1,000,000 (961,561 for 2013), however, we are seeing a growing trend of housing in downtown and other entertainment and retail amenities all across the metro. I believe someone ran the numbers recently and as it stands there are either over 1,000 units under construction, or U/C & planned over the next 1-2 years for downtown Tulsa alone (I believe it may be in the development thread). As we see this shift in downtown, where more retail, eateries, and housing populates, downtown Tulsa will begin to slowly break out of it's shell... slowly but surely... This will obviously provide more entertainment and housing options for people looking to move here.

I suspect we'll start to see some healthier growth over the next 5 years.

Edit: The jpeg is super small, will be easiest to just go to the link.

Tulsa at 197 sq mi does not have that much greenfield land left except in the southwest corner (where a lot of new residential and commercial sprawl is happening around Tulsa Hills) and far east (with little to no growth, this is the area where an outlet mall is proposed) while the largest section of undeveloped land is in the northwest and is not ideal for development due to hilly terrain and lack of infrastructure. So the majority of growth has to come naturally (people having kids) or through residential and commercial infill. Otherwise the growth in the Tulsa metro spills over to Jenks, BA, Bixby, etc. Building up downtown with more residential units is a step in the right direction but also making city neighborhoods better for families is a big part of it (schools, parks, etc) and increasing density in midtown neighborhoods (where NIMBY's fight it tooth and nail).

Eeek! Only 0.3% growth for Tulsa? Last year the city grew by a full 1%...why the huge drop off?

Eeek! Only 0.3% growth for Tulsa? Last year the city grew by a full 1%...why the huge drop off?

They moved to Jenks.

^
I guess my question should be, why did the growth rate slow down so much from year over year? I doubt people were cool with Tulsa one year than just said "screw it we are moving to Jenks" the very next year. Most big cities in this country with at least decent economies are experiencing stronger growth despite stiff competition from nearby suburbs.

These are estimates and therefore are not flawless (I seriously doubt Norman lost population, as what was reflected in these latest numbers). As it stands now, only Albuquerque and Memphis are large cities in this region growing slower, and both cities are going through some very tough economic issues.

Don't want to sound alarmist, but something is amiss up the turnpike.

What's sad is that Stillwater almost gained the same number of people that Tulsa did...

Don't want to sound alarmist, but something is amiss up the turnpike.

Tulsa has the disadvantage in being relatively small in land-area so unlike OKC, they don't have room for significant suburban growth within the city limits like what OKC is seeing in Deer Creek and West Edmond. The only way Tulsa is going to see significant growth at this point is by densifying their urban core.

Eeek! Only 0.3% growth for Tulsa? Last year the city grew by a full 1%...why the huge drop off?

Wasn't that 1% in part from when they adjusted the Tulsa MSA boundary to include Muskogee & it's county, which prior to that had been a separate micropolitan area, though still part of the Tulsa CSA

Wasn't that 1% in part from when they adjusted the Tulsa MSA boundary to include Muskogee & it's county, which prior to that had been a separate micropolitan area, though still part of the Tulsa CSA

No that was the CSA population which is now 1,131,458. The MSA is at 969,224. The city of Tulsa growth was closer to 1% from 2012 to 2013 when it increased by 3,894.

What's sad is that Stillwater almost gained the same number of people that Tulsa did...

Well not to worry they will just lobby the Census Bureau to include Payne County in time for the 2020 Census! Problem solved.

Well not to worry they will just lobby the Census Bureau to include Payne County in time for the 2020 Census! Problem solved.

I know your comment was tongue in cheek but Payne County will likely be a part of the CSA for either OKC or Tulsa at some point. I'm leaning toward OKC but there is also commuting between Stillwater and Tulsa with the two OSU campuses. It may not be the next census though.

Payne County will likely be a part of the CSA for either OKC or Tulsa at some point. I'm leaning toward OKC but there is also commuting between Stillwater and Tulsa with the two OSU campuses. It may not be the next census though.

It shouldn't be with Tulsa, since OKC TV so strongly dominates the media market in Stillwater.

It shouldn't be with Tulsa, since OKC TV so strongly dominates the media market in Stillwater.

The census cares about commuting patterns not TV markets. Whether or not there are enough commuters between Payne County and the Tulsa or OKC MSA's, and which one has more than the other, would be the reasoning behind adding it to either CSA.

Lots of OSU profs live in Midtown Tulsa...

Lots of OSU profs live in Midtown Tulsa...

Surely, others do in OKC metro. No doubt, to live in Stillwater is well beneath them. But if one is like my Stillwater friend and always lived in small towns, it was quite a relief to be relieved of commuting to work every day to Oklahoma City when she found a similar job in Stillwater and now drives to work in hardly more than 5 minutes. However, if professors only have to come to OSU two or three times a week to hold classes, then the commuting isn't so bad.

The census cares about commuting patterns not TV markets. Whether or not there are enough commuters between Payne County and the Tulsa or OKC MSA's, and which one has more than the other, would be the reasoning behind adding it to either CSA.

So it doesn't take much commuting at all for inclusion in a CSA? 77.5% of the workers in Stillwater both live and work there. In Muskogee, a part of the Tulsa CSA, that figure is 81.3%. If OKC wanted to include Enid in its CSA, its figure is clear up to 91.5%. Source: citi-data.com.

So it doesn't take much commuting at all for inclusion in a CSA? 77.5% of the workers in Stillwater both live and work there. In Muskogee, a part of the Tulsa CSA, that figure is 81.3%. If OKC wanted to include Enid in its CSA, its figure is clear up to 91.5%. Source: citi-data.com.

It all depends on the percentage of residents whom live in Payne County that commute to Oklahoma County and/or Tulsa County. The minimum for CSA is 15%. From the latest data I found a while back, I believe commuters from Payne to Oklahoma was 10%, and Payne to Tulsa was 9%.

The latest:

Metro area population grows by 11,000 in past year - Tulsa World: Local (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/metro-area-population-grows-by-in-past-year/article_02ef29cc-46e6-5084-8192-5e8929649053.html)

Of particular note:



It was the largest one-year increase in population this decade in the Tulsa metro area.
Prior annual metro area population increases have averaged 7,532 this decade.


Grew by 11,000 to 981,005. At this current rate Tulsa metro will hit 1 million in approximately two years. However, we'll see if this energy downturn will negatively impact that.

The latest:

Metro area population grows by 11,000 in past year - Tulsa World: Local (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/metro-area-population-grows-by-in-past-year/article_02ef29cc-46e6-5084-8192-5e8929649053.html)

Of particular note:



Grew by 11,000 to 981,005. At this current rate Tulsa metro will hit 1 million in approximately two years. However, we'll see if this energy downturn will negatively impact that.


The MSA is at 981,005
CSA is 1,151,172