Oklahoma Sees Population Increase Following 2020 Census

According to the Census Bureau, Oklahoma is one of the top ten states for net domestic migration. That means people from other states are moving here.

This news piqued the interest of Oklahoma City Major David Holt. 

In a tweet Wednesday, he highlighted the importance of building a city people want to live in.  

However, some Oklahomans are concerned about the impact on infrastructure and social services.  

Whether it's small town living or a more affordable city some say Oklahoma is making a strong case to live in our state.  

“It is very unique to have the cost of living and the ease of living that we have combined with all of these amazing amenities,” Holt said.  

New data from the Census Bureau gave insight into moving patterns across the United States since the 2020 Census. According to the data, Oklahoma is the 10th highest state for domestic population migration.   

“What they are finding is that even after 2020, people are still leaving the coasts; they are still coming to interior cities and interior states,” the mayor said.  

While the data is statewide, he said years of data gives a blueprint to where people are going.  

“We tend to know from what we just experienced over the last 20 years that the state’s growth is Oklahoma City’s growth. The vast amount of people coming to Oklahoma are coming to Oklahoma City,” Holt said.  

He said he recognized the growing pains that come with population growth. 

“Infrastructure, traffic, and as a community we are doing all we can to stay ahead of that,” he said. 

The mayor also referenced recent public transportation projects like the street cars and commuter rail.  

“When you see us having conversations about regional transit, conversation about building a commuter trail that goes from Edmond, Oklahoma City to Norman. That is all about keeping up with this and recognizing that the population of this city is going to be very different 20 years from now,” he said.  

According to the Homeless Alliance, population growth can impact homelessness.  

“We’ve seen this tightening of the housing market with more people moving to the area, looking to buy new homes. Sometimes people don’t make the connection between the cost of purchasing a home and how that impacts homelessness,” Meghan Mueller, the Associate Executive Director for the Homeless Alliance, said.  

She said, “When more and more people are being priced out of the purchasing market that impacts rentals as well. So, when people who may have under other circumstances been purchasing their own home they are remaining in rentals and it just squeezes more and more people out of the rental market and ultimately can contribute to the growth in homelessness,”  

City leaders and organizers said Oklahoma City isn’t there yet.  

“Luckily, we haven’t seen that same growth in the homeless population. In 2007, our annual census of the population, which we call the point in time count, was around 2,000 people. The most recent point in time count from this past year was 1,339,” Muller said.  

“You see the investments we are making in MAPS 4, you see a few things coming online like a better way, low barrier night shelter, so on and so on. We are only increasing the number of programs and opportunities out there to try and address the problem,” Holt said.