2009 Census MSA Estimate Released

[shane453]

Don't know if everyone else saw- the Census has released the County population estimates for July 1, 2009. Of course we will have a more accurate picture of demographics when the 2010 Census is complete, but here is the most recent estimate for OKC's MSA:

Oklahoma City, OK MSA
2000: 1,095,421
2008: 1,207,519
2009: 1,227,278

2008-2009: +19,759 (+1.6%)
2000-2009: +131,857 (+12%)

Note that 2008-2009 was the largest numerical population increase of the decade for the metro.

Broken down into county-by-county estimates:

County/2008 estimate/2009 estimate

Canadian County, OK /106,755 / 109,668
Cleveland County, OK /240,568 / 244,589
Grady County, OK /51,099 / 51,649
Lincoln County, OK /32,070 / 32,199
Logan County, OK /38,424 / 39,301
McClain County, OK /32,487 / 33,168
Oklahoma County, OK /706,116 / 716,704

Adding in Pottawattomie County's new population of 70,274, the OKC-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area is 1,297,552. So very close to passing 1.3 million! Some other figures here: RezoneOKC Blog Archive 2009 County/Metro Population Estimates

[PennyQuilts]

I spect a lot of people, particularly those who have roots or connnections here, are flocking home with the bad ecnomy elsewhere and how well Oklahoma has done as compared to those places. Some areas have been devasted by the economy and jobs have gone that aren't coming back. In NYC, roughly 35% of lawyers have been laid off in the past couple of years and as you can imagine, the banking and investment firms have taken a hard hit, too. My kids' friends have been laid off right and left and are leaving NYC in droves. They don't expect those jobs to return, at least most of them. Maybe some returned to Oklahoma or came looking for a fresh start. The low cost of living is pretty attractive to someone freaked out about how in the world they are going to pay their bills.

I don't know where the numbers came from but a lot of smaller communities have inherited professionals (and bluecollar for that matter) from harder hit parts of the country. But I am sure there is more to it than that.

[Dar405301]

just for ****s and grins, i crunched a few numbers, and got some interesting results. i live in jacksonville, and for many years now, the population of jax has been growing at a faster rate (sometimes much faster) than OKC's. this past year, that trend finally ended! jax's metro population only grew by 11,618, while OKC's grew by 19,759. awesome!

[Kerry]

just for ****s and grins, i crunched a few numbers, and got some interesting results. i live in jacksonville, and for many years now, the population of jax has been growing at a faster rate (sometimes much faster) than OKC's. this past year, that trend finally ended! jax's metro population only grew by 11,618, while OKC's grew by 19,759. awesome!

I wonder how much of Jax growth was artifical and based on the number of new homes being built that were never occupied - just flipped 10 times. I live on the Southside of Jax and the house next door was flipped 4 time in 5 years and no one ever lived in it. According to the city this house represented 2.6 people. I guess the census will tell all.

The funny part is that people now live there but that won't show up in the year over year stats as they have been counted all along. So now that growth really is occuring there aren't stats to show it.

[Spartan]

I believe we've now significantly exceeded our growth projection, and our growth rate is continuing to rise. This is exciting news.

[Dar405301]

spartan, i hope you're right. i would really like to see oklahoma's population grow fast enough to gain back our 6th representative, but it would take a SERIOUS growth spurt in order for us to catch up to other fast growing states like texas, arizona, utah (which is already overdue to gain a 4th seat), and georgia. so far, oklahoma's population just hasn't grown fast enough to get back that 6th seat. i think that population growth and getting back that seat should be a high priority for governor henry, our state lawmakers, and especially the new governor that will be elected later this year.

[mheaton76]

I spect a lot of people, particularly those who have roots or connnections here, are flocking home with the bad ecnomy elsewhere and how well Oklahoma has done as compared to those places. Some areas have been devasted by the economy and jobs have gone that aren't coming back. In NYC, roughly 35% of lawyers have been laid off in the past couple of years and as you can imagine, the banking and investment firms have taken a hard hit, too. My kids' friends have been laid off right and left and are leaving NYC in droves. They don't expect those jobs to return, at least most of them. Maybe some returned to Oklahoma or came looking for a fresh start. The low cost of living is pretty attractive to someone freaked out about how in the world they are going to pay their bills.

I think you're right. I have no hard evidence, but anecdotally, I get word of this is happening for precisely those reasons...

[mmonroe]

Well... you want a population boom... i'm only one man, but i'll see what I can do.

[semisimple]

Where the majority of (growing) metropolitan areas saw a decline in growth from the previous year, OKC saw an increase and its best year yet of this decade. From 2000 to 2009, the Census bureau estimates nearly 30% of the growth is from domestic migration (people moving within the U.S.), 18% from internaitonal migration (people moving from across the border, accounts for illegal immigration), and 52% due to natural population increase (i.e., birth rate > death rate). Estimated domestic migration numbers from 2000 to 2009 for some selected MSAs are quite revealing:

OKC: 41,082 (29.6% of all MSA population growth from 2000 to 2009)
Tulsa: 10,466 (14.1%) (Tulsa actually saw a net domestic out-migration of over 6,600 between 2004 and 2005.)
Kansas City: 31,747 (16.3%)
Denver: 66,269 (17.5%)
Indianapolis: 72,517 (33.1%)
Nashville: 123,199 (48.6%)
San Antonio: 177,447 (47.9%)
Austin: 234,239 (50.9%)
Charlotte: 248,379 (59.0%)
Dallas-Ft. Worth: 317,062 (25.1%)
Atlanta: 428,620 (38.9%)

Check out some very big losers in domestic migration (MSAs; doesn't include, e.g., the Riverside-Ontario MSA for L.A.):
New York City: -1,962,055
Los Angeles: -1,365,120
Chicago: -561,670
(all three showed growth, but entirely due to natural increase and very large amounts of international migration)

Looks as though indeed people are fleeing the coasts in droves...

[Pete]

Here in Los Angeles, the job market is still dismal and there was a UCLA report this week that predicted double-digit unemployment for at least two more years.

People can only hang in expensive cities for so long when the economy is that bad. Lots of people here are looking to leave.

[bluedogok]

I know that in the past year I have been seeing significantly more out of state plates here in Austin, many from California, Georgia, Florida and some from the more northern territories.

[Urbanized]

Several people in my sphere came here blindly within the past year or so, with no roots here or previous experience with Oklahoma. One of my employees came here from Phoenix with her husband when that town plummeted into the abyss. Funny thing is, they had moved to Phoenix from Seattle, where they had lived for years. Economy tanks in Seattle, so they move to AZ because of connections. Economy tanks there, they start researching the best place to move (he's in construction) and settle on OKC sight unseen. The seem to like it a lot too.

[Steve]

hmmmm

[PennyQuilts]

Economy tanks in Seattle, so they move to AZ because of connections. Economy tanks there, they start researching the best place to move (he's in construction) and settle on OKC sight unseen.

Well, just great. Those economy killers are going to tank us, too.

I'm kidding. I tell people that I was at the Oklahoma City at the time of the bombing, then moved to DC just in time for 911. People would tell me to move away to someplace less populated. And not sit so close.

[HOT ROD]

haha, penny.

This is all good news, hopefully the state as a whole can make some increases in time. Also, hopefully - if/when OK gets back the 6th congressperson; that it will be Oklahoma City inner city (as it's district) and hopefully you all will elect someone with half a brain who isn't a right wing idiot. Your electorate has really made Oklahoma look so backwater and 2nd rate with their stupid assertions and facist holier than thau attitude. I know most of those elected don't represent OKC - so hopefully OKC can get it's own legislator. If Tulsa has their own (and seem to have most of Oklahoma's delegation coming from there), then OKC should have at least 1 you'd think - being the largest and capital city. .....

Back to topic, I hope OKC continues to see significant growth; whatever the method. I want to see OKC hit 1.5M in CSA or MSA would be even better, and it would be nice to see the city hit 600K by the census. Then we could really put to rest all of this small market S**T and OKC could begin to shine on it's own merit moreso.

come on everybody, get to producin babies!!!!!! It looks like that is the ONLY significant growth in Tulsa, OKC - get to it.

[dmoor82]

^^ YES, have as much SEX as possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL! oh and fill out your census packets!

[Thunder]

So, I see advices here encouraging us to make babies. I wonder how much the condom market will suffer due to lack of sales...

Can we count babies growing in tummies as living resident? If so, gotta get busy contacting all those women!

(Btw, I threw away what condom I had left...)

[HOT ROD]

yep, you're feeding more than one person with a pregnant woman in your household, I don't see why they wouldn't be counted as having a baby. As long as the baby is intended to be delivered. but that's a whole other thread that I don't want to go into.

Have fun OKC !!!!

[Bunty]

^^ YES, have as much SEX as possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL! oh and fill out your census packets!

OH, please, Hey, some of us are quite lacking in sex appeal to get lucky to start with, much less try to have as much sex as possible.

[HOT ROD]

maybe we need commercials in OKC, targeting girls to get with guys to make this happen.

regardless of attraction, we need the numbers. ......

[Bunty]

By the state legislature passing anti-illegal immigrant laws, we probably were too early in making the illegal immigrants feel unwelcomed and out of here in Oklahoma since they can be counted in the census.

[Larry OKC]

By the state legislature passing anti-illegal immigrant laws, we probably were too early in making the illegal immigrants feel unwelcomed and out of here in Oklahoma since they can be counted in the census.

Yeah, you're right...we should have waited until they were counted first and then kicked them out

Oh wait, most are fearful of being kicked out because they answer the survey and wont get counted anyway.

[Larry OKC]

OH, please, Hey, some of us are quite lacking in sex appeal to get lucky to start with, much less try to have as much sex as possible.

But on a lighter note, isn't that why alcohol is around...LOL

[goldbug]

yep, you're feeding more than one person with a pregnant woman in your household, I don't see why they wouldn't be counted as having a baby. As long as the baby is intended to be delivered. but that's a whole other thread that I don't want to go into.

Have fun OKC !!!!

Uh, I think you're kidding here, but no, unless the baby has been born by April 1, it's not counted.

[ThePlainsman]

Here's hoping everyone participates in the 2010 census. We seem to have a lot of folks around here who are "scared", for lack of a better word, of it.