Population Growth for OKC

[Laramie]

Let's not forget that not only did Oklahoma suffer thru the Great Depression; the Dust bowl era as well led to the devastation of our state's population.

1930: 2,396,040 [18.1%]

Great Depression: The period of declining and lower economic activity in the worldwide economy from the late 1920s through the 1930s. In the United States, it began with the stock market crash in October 1929 and was characterized by a decline in business activity into 1933.

Dust Bowl: Dust storms were the result of drought and land that had been overused. Drought first hit the country in 1930. By 1934, it had turned the Great Plains into a desert that came to be known as the Dust Bowl. In Oklahoma, the Panhandle area was hit hardest by the drought.

1940: 2,336,434 −2.5%
1950: 2,233,351 −4.4%

1960: 2,328,284 4.3%
1970: 2,559,229 9.9%
1980: 3,025,290 [18.2%]

Oil bust of the 1980s: The 1980s oil glut was a serious surplus of crude oil caused by falling demand following the 1970s energy crisis. ... The result was a six-year decline in the price of oil, which culminated by plunging more than half in 1986 alone.

1990: 3,145,585 4.0% Oklahoma City 444,719 40,705 10.08%/Metro: 958,839
2000: 3,450,654 9.7% Oklahoma City 506,132 61,413 13.81%/Metro: 1,083,346 13.0%
2010: 3,751,351 8.7% Oklahoma City 579,999 73,867 14.59%/Metro: 1,252,987
2016: 3,923,561 4.4% Oklahoma City 638,367 58,368 10.93%/Metro: 1,373,211 +9.59%

Est. 2017 3,930,864 4.8%

[soonerguru]

Got it. Other industries are overtaking oil and gas. Currently oil and gas are less than 3% of our jobs. Aviation, Bio, Technology are the fastest growing. Manufacturing is also showing strong growth. Aviation has become the largest economic factor for okc.

But 90% of our legislators' priorities.

[soonerguru]

Tulsa's growth only came from births versus deaths. They were close to net outmigration. OKC has slowed considerably. The state is seeing people move out. If not for OKC, this state would be losing population. Not surprising given the sheer idiocy of our state leadership and their hostility toward education and any kind of progressive change.

[HOT ROD]

here here

[chuck5815]

tulsa's growth only came from births versus deaths. They were close to net outmigration. Okc has slowed considerably. The state is seeing people move out. If not for okc, this state would be losing population. Not surprising given the sheer idiocy of our state leadership and their hostility toward education and any kind of progressive change.

oh?

[BG918]

Not surprising given the sheer idiocy of our state leadership and their hostility toward education and any kind of progressive change.

It is certainly not helping attract knowledge workers which is the backbone of a 21st century economy. Education funding should be the top priority, followed by infrastructure. Oklahoma’s regional neighbors Texas and Colorado are doing what is necessary to nurture this economy and grow jobs, when will this state wake up?

Honestly with the clown show at the Capitol why would any company want to invest in Oklahoma? And why would anyone want to move here from somewhere else?

[Bunty]

It is certainly not helping attract knowledge workers which is the backbone of a 21st century economy. Education funding should be the top priority, followed by infrastructure. Oklahoma’s regional neighbors Texas and Colorado are doing what is necessary to nurture this economy and grow jobs, when will this state wake up?

Once again, it goes back to my theory that the majority of Oklahomans are actually doing quite well with their lives and don't see much reason to rock the boat, complain or even vote. If I'm wrong, we should have a large turnover of Republicans to Democrats at the state capitol in November plus a Democrat as the new governor. If it continues to look like most Republican incumbents won't get challengers during the April 11-13 filing period, I will already be proven right. For governor, I still predict the winner will be Cornett. Edmondson, while he probably wouldn't be a bad governor, is just a proven loser.

[dankrutka]

It is certainly not helping attract knowledge workers which is the backbone of a 21st century economy. Education funding should be the top priority, followed by infrastructure. Oklahoma’s regional neighbors Texas and Colorado are doing what is necessary to nurture this economy and grow jobs, when will this state wake up?

Honestly with the clown show at the Capitol why would any company want to invest in Oklahoma? And why would anyone want to move here from somewhere else?

I’m going to repeat this on this board until the end of time. On the whole, Oklahoma’s neighboring state legislatures are just as bad as Oklahoma’s. I’ve lived in Kansas and Texas for the last 7 years and the same crap is happening. The one current difference I can identify is education funding. Kansas bottomed out and is slowly responding. Texas is a little better on pay.

When people say the Oklahoma State legislature is worse than other states I would love to see more specifics.

[BG918]

I’m going to repeat this on this board until the end of time. On the whole, Oklahoma’s neighboring state legislatures are just as bad as Oklahoma’s. I’ve lived in Kansas and Texas for the last 7 years and the same crap is happening. The one current difference I can identify is education funding. Kansas bottomed out and is slowly responding. Texas is a little better on pay.

When people say the Oklahoma State legislature is worse than other states I would love to see more specifics.

The facts are Oklahoma has the lowest paid teachers in the region while funding has been slashed to all state services. Numerous state business leaders have stated that the legislature is making it hard to recruit people to work for their companies which is likely directly related to the low population growth across the state.

[bchris02]

When people say the Oklahoma State legislature is worse than other states I would love to see more specifics.

The fact that the state legislature is trying everything they can to kill the medical marijuana initiative before it's even voted on and that doing so is such a high priority says everything that needs to be said about this legislature. Until this state gets elected officials that are more focused on fixing the actual problems in this state instead of trying to impose a right-wing religious agenda, I don't see things getting much better. The fact that most lawmakers are running unopposed this year doesn't give me much hope for a turnaround. Hopefully getting somebody like Cornett in the governorship will be a step in the right direction.

[dankrutka]

The fact that the state legislature is trying everything they can to kill the medical marijuana initiative before it's even voted on and that doing so is such a high priority says everything that needs to be said about this legislature. Until this state gets elected officials that are more focused on fixing the actual problems in this state instead of trying to impose a right-wing religious agenda, I don't see things getting much better. The fact that most lawmakers are running unopposed this year doesn't give me much hope for a turnaround. Hopefully getting somebody like Cornett in the governorship will be a step in the right direction.

Again, you only bashed the Oklahoma legislature and did not actually provide a comparison surrounding states. I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but how many of the state's surrounding Oklahoma have passed medical marijuana. Also, do you think a religious agenda isn't an overwhelming component of Texas politics? Have you watched The Revisionaries on how Texas got it's state social studies standards? http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/revisionaries/

Again, most of you just aren't aware that these things are also happenning in surrounding states. These problems are not unique to Oklahoma. That's not to excuse bad policy or destructive culture. But we need to provide more evidence before saying Oklahoma is unique in its politics. On the whole, it's not.

[dankrutka]

The facts are Oklahoma has the lowest paid teachers in the region while funding has been slashed to all state services. Numerous state business leaders have stated that the legislature is making it hard to recruit people to work for their companies which is likely directly related to the low population growth across the state.

Yes, this is exactly what I pointed out. Education is the one issue of which I'm aware of in which Oklahoma is failing in comparison to peer/surrounding states. There may be other issues, but I'd actually like to see informed comparisons on other issues.

[Bunty]

When people say the Oklahoma State legislature is worse than other states I would love to see more specifics.

So would I. I'd like someone to research for a scorecard based on which state legislature has passed the most bills ruled as unconstitutional over the last 10 years. The last Oklahoma bill ruled unconstitutional barred oil company workers from suing the oil company for being hurt on the job. Many legislators may be religious right, but can govern like they never heard of the Golden Rule.

[soonerguru]

I’m going to repeat this on this board until the end of time. On the whole, Oklahoma’s neighboring state legislatures are just as bad as Oklahoma’s. I’ve lived in Kansas and Texas for the last 7 years and the same crap is happening. The one current difference I can identify is education funding. Kansas bottomed out and is slowly responding. Texas is a little better on pay.

When people say the Oklahoma State legislature is worse than other states I would love to see more specifics.

Let's be clear: Oklahoma has always had a clownish Legislature to varying degrees, as have those states. But the last 8 years have been a clinic on bad government. And it was all predictable given who was taking over and the rhetoric they had been promising for over a decade.

We are now last in everything good and first in everything bad. Sorry, we have Texas beat, and while Kansas is circling the bowl, we are in a lower echelon.

And there is no reason. This state has two relatively prosperous metro areas and abundant natural resources. But our state's greatest export is its smartest people. And that exodus will continue until Okies get over their stupid partisan stubbornness and stop voting for dumb people.

[bchris02]

Let's be clear: Oklahoma has always had a clownish Legislature to varying degrees, as have those states. But the last 8 years have been a clinic on bad government. And it was all predictable given who was taking over and the rhetoric they had been promising for over a decade.

We are now last in everything good and first in everything bad. Sorry, we have Texas beat, and while Kansas is circling the bowl, we are in a lower echelon.

And there is no reason. This state has two relatively prosperous metro areas and abundant natural resources. But our state's greatest export is its smartest people. And that exodus will continue until Okies get over their stupid partisan stubbornness and stop voting for dumb people.

I agree with this completely.

Also a part of the equation though is getting people to run as Democrats. Most of the lawmakers aren't going anywhere because they are running unopposed. You can't vote these people out and replace them with more competent people if nobody is running against them.

While I would take today's OKC any day over how it was when I moved back here in 2012, it seems like the metro was on a roll during the Great Recession but has been stalling out since the national economy has improved. Tulsa has been stalled for much longer. OKC was starting to get mentions on "hot up and coming cities" lists. The past few years you've seen that less and less.

[bchris02]

http://kfor.com/2018/03/27/oklahoma-...unding-debate/

[Bunty]

http://kfor.com/2018/03/27/oklahoma-...unding-debate/

LOL, Bennett probably won more votes than lost them with his comments. Anyway, I hope he gets voted out of there.

[bchris02]

LOL, Bennett probably won more votes than lost them with his comments. Anyway, I hope he gets voted out of there.

Yeah spanking is the cornerstone of child-rearing in Independent Fundamental Baptist circles. I've met a lot of people who think its a travesty that schools are no longer allowed to give swats (actually in Oklahoma I think it's still legal but most districts don't want to risk what could happen if they actually did it).

[jonny d]

Yeah spanking is the cornerstone of child-rearing in Independent Fundamental Baptist circles. I've met a lot of people who think its a travesty that schools are no longer allowed to give swats (actually in Oklahoma I think it's still legal but most districts don't want to risk what could happen if they actually did it).

You used "cornerstone". I do not think it means what you think it means!

[turnpup]

Yeah spanking is the cornerstone of child-rearing in Independent Fundamental Baptist circles. I've met a lot of people who think its a travesty that schools are no longer allowed to give swats (actually in Oklahoma I think it's still legal but most districts don't want to risk what could happen if they actually did it).

You're correct that it's still legal in Oklahoma for children not on an IEP: http://www.oscn.net/applications/osc...?CiteID=380409

Surprisingly, I've encountered quite a few schools (mostly small/rural districts) that actually still use corporal punishment as a means of discipline. Not surprisingly, I've also encountered quite a few instances where parents (who had previously given permission for their child to be spanked) became angry at the school afterward, alleging it was done too harshly, or that too many swats were given, etc.

[BG918]

One major problem in Oklahoma (and Kansas) is that the rural counties still have too much power and influence in the legislature. Case in point the Speaker of the House represents Atoka and the President Pro Tem of the Senate represents Altus. The main population centers are larger in surrounding states like Texas, Colorado and Missouri so the rural politicians are more evenly matched or drowned out by the urban politicians. The Denver metro, for example, dominates the political world in Colorado which has skewed what once was a solid Republican state toward a Blue State that works for the new economy they are developing there (technology & aerospace).

Oklahoma has struggled with this identity for awhile and needs to accept that it’s a majority urban/suburban state with 2/3 of the state population living in the OKC and Tulsa metros. As I mentioned before if you combine the CSA’s that is 2.6 million people in relative close proximity to each other. The way you need to govern for an urban economy vs rural economy in the 21st century is very different.

[king183]

One major problem in Oklahoma (and Kansas) is that the rural counties still have too much power and influence in the legislature. Case in point the Speaker of the House represents Atoka and the President Pro Tem of the Senate represents Altus. The main population centers are larger in surrounding states like Texas, Colorado and Missouri so the rural politicians are more evenly matched or drowned out by the urban politicians. The Denver metro, for example, dominates the political world in Colorado which has skewed what once was a solid Republican state toward a Blue State that works for the new economy they are developing there (technology & aerospace).

Oklahoma has struggled with this identity for awhile and needs to accept that it’s a majority urban/suburban state with 2/3 of the state population living in the OKC and Tulsa metros. As I mentioned before if you combine the CSA’s that is 2.6 million people in relative close proximity to each other. The way you need to govern for an urban economy vs rural economy in the 21st century is very different.

A lot of this will change once redistricting occurs in 2020 and moves more legislative control to urban centers, especially OKC.

[Plutonic Panda]

Let's be clear: Oklahoma has always had a clownish Legislature to varying degrees, as have those states. But the last 8 years have been a clinic on bad government. And it was all predictable given who was taking over and the rhetoric they had been promising for over a decade.

We are now last in everything good and first in everything bad. Sorry, we have Texas beat, and while Kansas is circling the bowl, we are in a lower echelon.

And there is no reason. This state has two relatively prosperous metro areas and abundant natural resources. But our state's greatest export is its smartest people. And that exodus will continue until Okies get over their stupid partisan stubbornness and stop voting for dumb people.

Probably one of the realists posts on OKCTalk.

[dcsooner]

Let's be clear: Oklahoma has always had a clownish Legislature to varying degrees, as have those states. But the last 8 years have been a clinic on bad government. And it was all predictable given who was taking over and the rhetoric they had been promising for over a decade.

We are now last in everything good and first in everything bad. Sorry, we have Texas beat, and while Kansas is circling the bowl, we are in a lower echelon.

And there is no reason. This state has two relatively prosperous metro areas and abundant natural resources. But our state's greatest export is its smartest people. And that exodus will continue until Okies get over their stupid partisan stubbornness and stop voting for dumb people.

+1

[gopokes88]

Um, anyway.....