Tulsa suburbs jump in population

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Three of the five fastest growing cities in Oklahoma during the past five years are suburbs of Tulsa -- and the growth may be at the expense of Tulsa.<br/><br/>The US Census Bureau

Thursday, June 30th 2005, 10:06 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Three of the five fastest growing cities in Oklahoma during the past five years are suburbs of Tulsa -- and the growth may be at the expense of Tulsa.

The US Census Bureau says the population of Bixby increased by nearly 33 percent, Jenks grew by more than 28 percent and Owasso is up more than 21.5 percent.

But the population of Tulsa fell from more than 393,000 to fewer than 384,000, a drop of nearly 2.5 percent.

The fastest growing town in the state is Taft. It's a historically black town southeast of Tulsa where an increase of 160 residents means a nearly 46 percent increase in population.

The Census Bureau says Oklahoma City's population rose 4 percent, from more than 506,000 to more than 528,000 residents. The Oklahoma City suburbs of Moore and Mustang also increased in population.

Norman remains the state's third-largest city and now has a population of more than 100,000 while Lawton is fourth despite a five percent population decline. Broken Arrow is the fifth largest city.

The overall population of the state rose by more than 2 percent to more than 3.5-million people.