Oklahoma 11th Fastest Growing State
The Census has released its July 1, 2009 state population estimates (CSV File). Between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009, Oklahoma experienced its greatest numerical increase of the decade. Its 1.18% growth rate was #11 in the country, probably due to slowdowns of growth in some other states that were better off before the economic crisis.
This table shows Oklahoma’s estimated growth by year since 2000.
| Year | Estimate | # Increase | % Increase |
| 2000 | 3,453,943 | ||
| 2001 | 3,464,729 | 10,786 | 0.31% |
| 2002 | 3,484,754 | 20,025 | 0.58% |
| 2003 | 3,498,687 | 13,933 | 0.40% |
| 2004 | 3,514,449 | 15,762 | 0.45% |
| 2005 | 3,532,769 | 18,320 | 0.52% |
| 2006 | 3,574,334 | 41,565 | 1.18% |
| 2007 | 3,612,186 | 37,852 | 1.06% |
| 2008 | 3,644,025 | 31,839 | 0.88% |
| 2009 | 3,687,050 | 43,025 | 1.18% |
As seen, growth has increased quite a bit since 2005-2006, and the strongest year has been from 2008-2009.
Overall, the population of Oklahoma has grown by 233,107 people since 2000, for a total growth rate of 6.75%.
Here are the Top 12 Fastest-growing states from 2008-2009.
| Rank | State | % Growth | |
| 1 | Utah | 2.09 | % |
| 2 | Texas | 1.96 | % |
| 3 | Colorado | 1.8 | % |
| 4 | Alaska | 1.5 | % |
| 5 | Washington | 1.49 | % |
| 6 | Arizona | 1.48 | % |
| 7 | N Carolina | 1.44 | % |
| 8 | Georgia | 1.35 | % |
| 9 | S Carolina | 1.28 | % |
| 10 | Idaho | 1.19 | % |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 1.18 | % |
| 12 | N Mexico | 1.15 | % |
And the components of the 2008-2009 increase are estimated as follows:
| Natural Increase | 19,447 | 45.09% |
| Intl Migration | 5,340 | 12.38% |
| Domestic Migration | 18,345 | 42.53% |
| Total | 43,132 |
These numbers, especially domestic migration, represent a the change that has been going on in Oklahoma over the last 5 years. Check out domestic migration numbers at the beginning of the decade, compared to the last few years. 5 out of 6 of the years from 2000-2005, we had negative domestic migration- but in the last four years, we have gained an average of 14,000 per year from other states.
| 2000 | -2,821 |
| 2001 | -9,047 |
| 2002 | 1,197 |
| 2003 | -1,499 |
| 2004 | -4,257 |
| 2005 | -821 |
| 2006 | 18,863 |
| 2007 | 12,974 |
| 2008 | 6,529 |
| 2009 | 18,345 |
With so much domestic migration ocurring as a result of changing economic circumstances in the high-growth states of the first part of the decade, it will be interesting to see how Oklahoma is affected, and how the 2010 Census reflects those changes. Maybe all the positive economic press we’ve been getting really has been making people notice Oklahoma and decide to give it a go.
