OKC MSA Employment Growth

[stlokc]

This is getting some buzz in St. Louis because it's the first time in a while STL has been a top 10 market. Get a load of who is #2!

[Bellaboo]

Cool !!!

[ManAboutTown]

This is getting some buzz in St. Louis because it's the first time in a while STL has been a top 10 market. Get a load of who is #2!

Interesting that Tulsa is not on the list, although it may not be large enough to qualify.

[BG918]

Interesting that Tulsa is not on the list, although it may not be large enough to qualify.

Top 50 MSA’s - Tulsa is #54

[Rover]

Top 50 MSA’s - Tulsa is #54

So what was Tulsa's MSA Employment growth rate?

[ComeOnBenjals!]

So what was Tulsa's MSA Employment growth rate?

According to my math with data from St Louis Fed, 2.9%. 466 ->479.5.

Great news that both metros employment bases are growing. The state as a whole really just needs a few more F500 size company headquarters to push things over the edge. Easier said than done, but it would be great to snag a relocation or two.

[progressiveboy]

According to my math with data from St Louis Fed, 2.9%. 466 ->479.5.

Great news that both metros employment bases are growing. The state as a whole really just needs a few more F500 size company headquarters to push things over the edge. Easier said than done, but it would be great to snag a relocation or two.

I am a little perplexed in what has pushed the growth in the State? There has not been major announcements of any huge corporations moving to the State or any companies that have grown by leaps and bounds.? Please enlighten me on this growth rate? It would be a huge get to land 2-3 major corporate relocations. Many people believe on this thread that it is a very rare feat. Just look to the cities directly South in the state of Texas. They are proof that it can be done.

[bison34]

I am a little perplexed in what has pushed the growth in the State? There has not been major announcements of any huge corporations moving to the State or any companies that have grown by leaps and bounds.? Please enlighten me on this growth rate? It would be a huge get to land 2-3 major corporate relocations. Many people believe on this thread that it is a very rare feat. Just look to the cities directly South in the state of Texas. They are proof that it can be done.

Those cities in Texas have more money than God, and use it to lure companies there. Oklahoma doesn't have that.

It is possible. But I know quite a few companies in the OKC area that are growing organically, to the point they hire 100 or 200 a year, with pretty good pay, as well.

You are correct, it can happen. But they reason Texas has gotten so many is not because they are a bastion of education or a progressive haven. They give massive incentives to companies to move there, ironically off the back of huge oil and gas revenues.

[progressiveboy]

Those cities in Texas have more money than God, and use it to lure companies there. Oklahoma doesn't have that.

It is possible. But I know quite a few companies in the OKC area that are growing organically, to the point they hire 100 or 200 a year, with pretty good pay, as well.

You are correct, it can happen. But they reason Texas has gotten so many is not because they are a bastion of education or a progressive haven. They give massive incentives to companies to move there, ironically off the back of huge oil and gas revenues.

Just my "personal" opinion, I feel Oklahoma has not diversified enough from the O&G sector. Staying the same is not progress! Oklahoma must attempt and try with incentives. It helps if our residents feel good and have pride for the State. The ball is in our court. Where do we take it??

[HOT ROD]

OKC is. They are massively recruiting in the Healthcare sector to fill and enhance the "Innovation District" and the greater Oklahoma Health Center. The city is also working hard to grow the aerospace sector even further, including more than just at Tinker and Will Rogers International Airport, but sites at CE Page Airport and elsewhere throughout the city/metro. I know these are only two sectors but it does show OKC building on its strengths trying to build critical mass of jobs outside of the Oil & Gas sector.

What I'd like to also see OKC do, in addition to trying to incentivize/recruit other sectors (such as IT), is if OKC could somehow encourage existing energy sector businesses to adopt new technologies with research and development here. I think that is also the point of the Innovation District but I'd really like to see Devon for example possibly get into more than just Oil exploration/production, maybe grow into other Energy sectors. Not sure if that's even possible but I think that could be a very easy way for OKC to grow with new R&D expanding upon its critical mass of energy companies.

I'd love to see OKC make a push for Finance and more Insurance, and professional services. I'd like for most of these companies to at least have an OKC presence/office. Any other areas OKC should look to enter/expand? It is amazing to see the growth OKC is having but just imagine if the city did do a TX city style push. ....

[Pete]

I am a little perplexed in what has pushed the growth in the State? There has not been major announcements of any huge corporations moving to the State or any companies that have grown by leaps and bounds.? Please enlighten me on this growth rate? It would be a huge get to land 2-3 major corporate relocations. Many people believe on this thread that it is a very rare feat. Just look to the cities directly South in the state of Texas. They are proof that it can be done.

Job growth is the reason, and that's true across the board. Talk to anyone trying to hire from fast food to professionals.

That combines with our still low cost of living and a workforce that is more willing to relocate. Didn't you just move back yourself, foresaking the all-mighty state of Texas?


It also has to be said that a ton of OKC's growth comes at the expense of rural Oklahoma. I can name a hundred people I've met in the last few years who moved here from Carnegie, Hugo, Duncan, Enid, etc. Seems a good number of people leave small towns once they hit 18 and then never return.

[PhiAlpha]

Just my "personal" opinion, I feel Oklahoma has not diversified enough from the O&G sector. Staying the same is not progress! Oklahoma must attempt and try with incentives. It helps if our residents feel good and have pride for the State. The ball is in our court. Where do we take it??

Believe me, if OKC was as reliant on oil and gas as you suggest, things would not be going as well as they are right now. The industry has contracted a ton since 2014 and that went into hyper speed in 2020. It’s doing pretty well right now with everyone being fiscally responsible for a change/for now and It’s starting to grow again but not a rate that would explain the rapid growth of the city.

[bison34]

Furthering the "Texas benefits more than anyone from O&G" argument I always make, here you go:

https://www.governing.com/finance/te...axes-royalties

As I have said, O&G money pays for these incentives they pay to other companies to move there. Oklahoma can never have anywhere close to this, so trying to say Oklahoma needs to be more like Texas isn't fair or reasonable. Come on, now. And as PhiAlpha said, if Oklahoma was so reliant on O&G now, it would be a very, very bleak future for the state. OKC is leading the charge to become even less dependent on energy production taxes. I get emails all the time from companies expanding here to OKC (maybe not in 500 or so job increments), that are looking for accountants or financial analysts. It will literally take less than 10% more collaborative effort between 23rd and Lincoln and the Oklahoma Dept. of Education and OSRHE (and the colleges it represents), and OK could get major job growth, because land is still cheap here. See below for a good story about what OU's president said regarding it. Slightly politicky, but a good article that serves a purpose and fits in this thread.

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news...e/74703121007/

[Pete]

OKC is definitely less dependent on O&G than ever before.

Chesapeake and Devon alone shed about 6,000 high-paying jobs over a few years and a ripple was hardly felt.

As you can see from this list, no OKC energy company is even in the top 100 in the state:

https://www.okctalk.com/showthread.p...32#post1245432

[PhiAlpha]

OKC is. They are massively recruiting in the Healthcare sector to fill and enhance the "Innovation District" and the greater Oklahoma Health Center. The city is also working hard to grow the aerospace sector even further, including more than just at Tinker and Will Rogers International Airport, but sites at CE Page Airport and elsewhere throughout the city/metro. I know these are only two sectors but it does show OKC building on its strengths trying to build critical mass of jobs outside of the Oil & Gas sector.

What I'd like to also see OKC do, in addition to trying to incentivize/recruit other sectors (such as IT), is if OKC could somehow encourage existing energy sector businesses to adopt new technologies with research and development here. I think that is also the point of the Innovation District but I'd really like to see Devon for example possibly get into more than just Oil exploration/production, maybe grow into other Energy sectors. Not sure if that's even possible but I think that could be a very easy way for OKC to grow with new R&D expanding upon its critical mass of energy companies.

I'd love to see OKC make a push for Finance and more Insurance, and professional services. I'd like for most of these companies to at least have an OKC presence/office. Any other areas OKC should look to enter/expand? It is amazing to see the growth OKC is having but just imagine if the city did do a TX city style push. ....

Devon diversifying too heavily into renewables would be terrible for them as a company. They need to put all their effort into seeking out acquisition targets to grow their asset base and avoid being acquired. The big alternative projects can work but they are often very capital intensive, take a years at best to pay out (many oil wells payout in 6-12 when oil is around $80/bbl) and are heavily reliant on government subsidies to be remotely profitable right now (especially the new carbon capture stuff which ONLY is viable because of government incentives). This is why a lot of the majors that made big extravagant public leaps into alternative projects have been a lot quieter about them lately. Alternative projects are best suited for companies that specialize in them. One with a tech parallel that actually makes sense from an efficiency perspective is Geothermal. Devon has made some small investments into a startup that’s had some success bringing horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing tech into the geothermal space which is pretty exciting. That being said, they would essentially have to become a utility at that point which is something they likely aren’t all that interested in doing until the process matures.

We’ve worked on some alternative projects and while we love those clients and are happy to do the work, they haven’t shown to be near as sustainable/consistent as traditional energy projects.

[CaptDave]

I really don't want Oklahoma to be more like Texas. Why not try being more like Colorado???

[Plutonic Panda]

I really don't want Oklahoma to be more like Texas. Why not try being more like Colorado???

I would love Oklahoma to be more of extension of Texas rather than Colorado. And I say that as someone who loves Colorado and spends time there but Texas has awesome energy and amazingly huge freeways and roads. I wish Oklahoma would follow.

[CaptDave]

Pavement doesn't make a place desirable.

[PoliSciGuy]

The state really should be trying to tie-in to Texas (at least economically/infrastructur..ally?) as much as possible. I'd love to see the state try to invest more in Marietta/Ardmore/Thackerville to upgrade services and infrastructure there. As the DFW metro pushes further northward, those areas could become good exurb alternatives for folks looking to commute.

[Grant]

The Texoma area has decent potential as a retirement destination for folks from the Metroplex who want to live near the water, golf courses, etc. with a bunch of other retirees but remain a relatively short ~2-hour drive from family.

[Plutonic Panda]

Pavement doesn't make a place desirable.

That's debatable.

[The]

The Texoma area has decent potential as a retirement destination for folks from the Metroplex who want to live near the water, golf courses, etc. with a bunch of other retirees but remain a relatively short ~2-hour drive from family.

The money is all on the Texas side, but it would be nice to see some spillover to our side.

[oklip955]

this maybe the wrong place to ask this but i think it could tie in how would you like to see the okc area and Oklahoma in general look like in say 5 yrs, 10 and 20? Jobs, housing, etc Develop or encourage the development of southern Oklahoma? or grow more of the metros of Okc and Tulsa? What should the state as well as local governments be doing to encourage more jobs/growth etc? One point I think we are missing is to encourage retirees from other states to move here. Why, not that bad of weather ie never cold for long, ok summers, cheaper cost of living, life styles that they can afford. ( golf, boating, fishing etc) What else can the state and local government do to encourage more retirees to move here.

[Jersey Boss]

^ Health care. Comparing the states, Oklahoma is the last place a retiree would come to based on that metric. 51st in this medicare ranking.
https://medicareguide.com/best-state...lthcare-340840

[Mississippi Blues]

That's debatable.

You can debate it but it’s not inaccurate to say that the worst experiences in Texas happen on the pavement. I’m getting to where I prefer West Texas (not West, TX) and the panhandle over anywhere east of I-35W because it still feels like Texas, not like California with cowboy hats.