Population Growth for OKC

[king183]

I agree with you about companies getting really big, but I think as oil continues to stay steady, we'll just see more and more small companies created (as we are seeing currently) so we might see an increase in headcount, just decentralized across a bigger number of smaller, more focused shops.

Ahh, yes, excellent point.

[Bunty]

If oil stays around 55 to 70 dollars you’ll see significant growth again. Add to the new corporation and jobs that have been hinted, but yet to be announced, and OKC should have a good year in 2018, as far as growth goes.

Yeah, assuming the strongest earthquakes continue to stay out of the OKC metro and only stick to the little towns well out in the middle of nowhere.

[bchris02]

No, international migration went basically unchanged for OKC. It was domestic in-migration that took a loss. Domestic in-migration is when other people leaving in the US move to other US location. When there’s a positive net gain, that means more moves to an area than left it. When it’s a negative net loss, more people left the area than moved to it.

OKC was a very attractive relocation destination during the Great Recession. High oil prices during the era helped protect this city from the worst of it. OKC enjoyed an unemployment rate of 5% when places like Charlotte were still over 10%. I think the slow down in domestic migration is simply because the rest of the country is doing much better now and at the same time, OKC's economy has cooled off. It's not horrible by any means but it isn't what it was back around 2012-13 during the last oil boom.

[ChrisHayes]

While I think it's probably okay to say that OKC's economy has cooled off, I'd use that term loosely. As of March the Metro has a 3.6% unemployment rate and that's with a record high 680,489 people in the labor force.

[coov23]

Yeah, assuming the strongest earthquakes continue to stay out of the OKC metro and only stick to the little towns well out in the middle of nowhere.

The earthquakes have been less and less. Please don’t show your political position and detour a thread.

[Bunty]

The earthquakes have been less and less. Please don’t show your political position and detour a thread.

It most certainly isn't a political position. What it is is a big worry, quite easily denied, if you never sense them. That they're not happening as often doesn't come with a guarantee that another big one won't happen. But then a big earthquake in OKC may not effect its population growth any more than earthquakes adversely affected California's population boom.

[Jersey Boss]

The earthquakes have been less and less. Please don’t show your political position and detour a thread.

It is posts that this that derail threads into the hole of the politics forum. There was nothing either partisan or ideological in the post by Bunty. Is it the position of either of the political parties in Oklahoma to be pro earthquake or indifferent to the destruction of private property? Is it an ideological point that is exclusive to one ideology over the other? You are the one attempting to detour this thread, please knock it off.

[dcsooner]

It is posts that this that derail threads into the hole of the politics forum. There was nothing either partisan or ideological in the post by Bunty. Is it the position of either of the political parties in Oklahoma to be pro earthquake or indifferent to the destruction of private property? Is it an ideological point that is exclusive to one ideology over the other? You are the one attempting to detour this thread, please knock it off.

Wow��

[Bunty]

It is posts that this that derail threads into the hole of the politics forum. There was nothing either partisan or ideological in the post by Bunty. Is it the position of either of the political parties in Oklahoma to be pro earthquake or indifferent to the destruction of private property? Is it an ideological point that is exclusive to one ideology over the other? You are the one attempting to detour this thread, please knock it off.

LOL, Interesting how you didn't include this last part of my quote: "But then a big earthquake in OKC may not effect its population growth any more than earthquakes adversely affected California's population boom."

How the political situation at the State Capitol may be discouraging population growth was brought up in this lengthy thread before. Where were you then? Rather than complaining, why don't you add something new, interesting and pertinent, if you know of anything, to the subject being discussed, which is Population Growth for OKC.

[Jersey Boss]

LOL, Interesting how you didn't include this last part of my quote: "But then a big earthquake in OKC may not effect its population growth any more than earthquakes adversely affected California's population boom."

How the political situation at the State Capitol may be discouraging population growth was brought up in this lengthy thread before. Where were you then? Rather than complaining, why don't you add something new, interesting and pertinent, if you know of anything, to the subject being discussed, which is Population Growth for OKC.

WTF?? Really?

[chuck5815]

I think you guys are saying the same thing.

[coov23]

Before I get jumped. I’m not even remotely close to being a backer of anything OK state legislature stands for. I’m a hard moderate/libertarian.

All I’m saying is that it seems earthquakes aren’t reall the issue they once were with so many regulations on drilling. Just my two cents.

[pw405]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed... but what sort of "pie in the sky" project would really accelerate population growth for OKC?

If the state/city could pick from anything (not counting Amazon HQ2) I wonder what would be the "perfect" employer/development/attraction/whatever to really push growth rates up? We know we need economic diversity, but that can be tough for say, a tech company, to relocate here due to the fact that there isn't a large talent pool to recruit from.

Has this sort of question been studied extensively? From my casual observations, it seems that a few home-grown companies striking gold is really what tends to create jobs and drive population growth. Perhaps 2-3 biotech companies develop a series of hit products that cause their companies to grow to ~1,000 employees? When DVN & CHK were on a growth tear, that obviously created jobs but I think that even if oil hit $120 tomorrow, you'd see some restraint in hiring compared to the last boom.

Is corporate re-location the most desirable for population growth?

[josh]

OKC was a very attractive relocation destination during the Great Recession. High oil prices during the era helped protect this city from the worst of it. OKC enjoyed an unemployment rate of 5% when places like Charlotte were still over 10%. I think the slow down in domestic migration is simply because the rest of the country is doing much better now and at the same time, OKC's economy has cooled off. It's not horrible by any means but it isn't what it was back around 2012-13 during the last oil boom.

Does that not then speak to the vulnerability of OKC and it needing record crude oil prices for its net domestic migration rate to be in the 8,000 to 10,000 range? Similar markets, population wise, like Raleigh and Jacksonville have consistently seen domestic migration numbers in the 15,000-20,000 range since 2013.

Charlotte may have had a higher unemployment rate, but that never affected their growth. Their net domestic rate stayed fairly consistent as did their overall growth.

[bchris02]

Does that not then speak to the vulnerability of OKC and it needing record crude oil prices for its net domestic migration rate to be in the 8,000 to 10,000 range? Similar markets, population wise, like Raleigh and Jacksonville have consistently seen domestic migration numbers in the 15,000-20,000 range since 2013.

Charlotte may have had a higher unemployment rate, but that never affected their growth. Their net domestic rate stayed fairly consistent as did their overall growth.

Charlotte's economy was abysmal early in this decade. I am surprised that the growth rate didn't take a huge hit. I believe the benefits Charlotte offers such as a high quality of life and low cost of living compared to the Northeast (where most of its transplants come from) helped keep people moving there. The city had quite a bit of momentum prior to the recession.

OKC on the other hand has a local economy that is out of sync with the national economy due to reliance on oil and gas. What this town really needs to take off is a successful homegrown company in some sector other than energy. I think a major corporate relocation would be a long shot right now. I am not going to give my own opinion on why since I know I'll be attacked if I do, but does anybody actually think the current situation at 23rd and Lincoln is good for OKC? Are the priorities of state lawmakers indicative of a state that wants to attract and retain an educated workforce? I think a lot of people underestimate how dire that situation currently is.

[dcsooner]

Charlotte's economy was abysmal early in this decade. I am surprised that the growth rate didn't take a huge hit. I believe the benefits Charlotte offers such as a high quality of life and low cost of living compared to the Northeast (where most of its transplants come from) helped keep people moving there. The city had quite a bit of momentum prior to the recession.

OKC on the other hand has a local economy that is out of sync with the national economy due to reliance on oil and gas. What this town really needs to take off is a successful homegrown company in some sector other than energy. I think a major corporate relocation would be a long shot right now. I am not going to give my own opinion on why since I know I'll be attacked if I do, but does anybody actually think the current situation at 23rd and Lincoln is good for OKC? Are the priorities of state lawmakers indicative of a state that wants to attract and retain an educated workforce? I think a lot of people underestimate how dire that situation currently is.

Agree, I won't expound on my response for the reason you indicated but just yesterday a neighbor knowing I am an OK native commented how my home State is near last in economic, health political and q of l measures. People tend to not move to areas with that kind of performance

[BG918]

Agree, I won't expound on my response for the reason you indicated but just yesterday a neighbor knowing I am an OK native commented how my home State is near last in economic, health political and q of l measures. People tend to not move to areas with that kind of performance

I have some friends that recently moved to Norman from Denver. One of them has ties to OK so not completely out of the blue but their rationale was that for similar salaries to what they were both making in Denver they can buy twice the house and still have money leftover living in Norman. They are also playing the long game of expecting Oklahoma to eventually improve its standing due to its abundant natural resources, mild climate and central location as a spillover for fast-growing Texas. One of the first rules of investing in something is buy low, especially when everyone is cautioning against it. Then hold as it hopefully rises in value. That is their opinion of Oklahoma; right now things are a mess but there is potential for things to get better and for OK to be a high growth state similar to how Tennessee has turned itself around.

[PhiAlpha]

Charlotte's economy was abysmal early in this decade. I am surprised that the growth rate didn't take a huge hit. I believe the benefits Charlotte offers such as a high quality of life and low cost of living compared to the Northeast (where most of its transplants come from) helped keep people moving there. The city had quite a bit of momentum prior to the recession.

OKC on the other hand has a local economy that is out of sync with the national economy due to reliance on oil and gas. What this town really needs to take off is a successful homegrown company in some sector other than energy. I think a major corporate relocation would be a long shot right now. I am not going to give my own opinion on why since I know I'll be attacked if I do, but does anybody actually think the current situation at 23rd and Lincoln is good for OKC? Are the priorities of state lawmakers indicative of a state that wants to attract and retain an educated workforce? I think a lot of people underestimate how dire that situation currently is.

Ummm have you heard of Paycom? This is already happening with several companies outside of the energy industry.

No one thinks what's going on at the capital is good for OKC, most of us just don't take the hardline stance that it's the cause of all of our problems like you do. I think because of your views, you vastly overestimate how dire that situation is.

[ChrisHayes]

I have some friends that recently moved to Norman from Denver. One of them has ties to OK so not completely out of the blue but their rationale was that for similar salaries to what they were both making in Denver they can buy twice the house and still have money leftover living in Norman. They are also playing the long game of expecting Oklahoma to eventually improve its standing due to its abundant natural resources, mild climate and central location as a spillover for fast-growing Texas. One of the first rules of investing in something is buy low, especially when everyone is cautioning against it. Then hold as it hopefully rises in value. That is their opinion of Oklahoma; right now things are a mess but there is potential for things to get better and for OK to be a high growth state similar to how Tennessee has turned itself around.

I agree with this sentiment. I won't be surprised if we start seeing some people flee from Denver and DFW Metro towards OKC in the next few years because of the soaring cost of living. DFW is growing so fast, they can't keep up with it and it's causing the cost of living to grow quite fast. It's not on par with Denver but it's continuing to go up. Nevermind the traffic headaches. As much as we would like to see OKC growing like Dallas, it's really a good thing we aren't. Steady growth is better than explosive growth because it allows the city to keep up and adapt to it. And as much as I would like to have seen OKC get Amazon HQ2, it's a good thing we didnt!

[Bunty]

Agree, I won't expound on my response for the reason you indicated but just yesterday a neighbor knowing I am an OK native commented how my home State is near last in economic, health political and q of l measures. People tend to not move to areas with that kind of performance

Life is how you make it. I assume you're doing fine in Oklahoma and don't contribute to why Oklahoma ranks so low in quality of life rankings. Oklahoma people who aren't doing well might as well move out, such as those living in poverty. Many other states through government programs treat the poor and/or disabled better. Food stamps have been cut. So it's mainly just poor people who should avoid Oklahoma like the plague.

[gopokes88]

Ummm have you heard of Paycom? This is already happening with several companies outside of the energy industry.

No one thinks what's going on at the capital is good for OKC, most of us just don't take the hardline stance that it's the cause of all of our problems like you do. I think because of your views, you vastly overestimate how dire that situation is.

Every state legislature is a little nutty.

I like how the flow of this thread is praising and jealous of charlotte with no mention that the NC legislature cost them an NBA all star game and and the NCAA tournament lol

[PhiAlpha]

Every state legislature is a little nutty.

I like how the flow of this thread is praising and jealous of charlotte with no mention that the NC legislature cost them an NBA all star game and and the NCAA tournament lol

Exactly, it’s funny how BChris always conveniently forgets that when talking about Charlotte and North Carolina vs. Oklahoma.

[bchris02]

^^^ North Carolina is a solid middle-of-the-pack state when it comes to things like education and is one of the better states in the South. To most people, this is a much bigger factor than political culture. As you mention, North Carolina does have a socially regressive legislature. It's not as far right as Oklahoma's but it is dominated by the Christian Right and in fact they are worried about it costing Raleigh the Amazon HQ.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...=.8edd999a0639

Still, North Carolina is at least in the running for the HQ and Oklahoma isn't. Why is that and what needs to change to make the state more competitive?

[hoya]

Yeah, the state legislature is almost always made up of the B Teamers. Every state has nutjobs who propose crazy bills. California just tried to pass a bill making it a crime (punishable by up to 6 months in jail) for a restaurant to give a plastic straw to customers who don't specifically ask for one.

Our particular crazies on 23rd and Lincoln certainly don't help matters, but I think education funding is the only really serious problem we have. Our state reps are no crazier than the ones in Texas, and that state is doing fine.

[Celebrator]

Charlotte is so...played out. This is OKC Talk, right, not CLT Talk.