Oklahoma Demographics

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2006, Oklahoma has an estimated population of 3,579,212, which is an increase of 35,770, or 1.0%, from the prior year and an increase of 128,558, or 3.6%, since the year 2000. This does not include the natural increase since the last census in 2005 of 80,753 people (that is 264,324 births minus 183,571 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 21,128 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 36,546 people, and migration within the country produced a net decrease of 15,418 people.

The center of population of Oklahoma is located in Lincoln County, in the town of Sparks [2].

The five largest ancestry groups in Oklahoma are German (14.5%), American (13.1%), Irish (11.8%), English (9.6%), African Americans (8.1%) and Native American (7.9%, with Cherokees as the largest tribe, although the total number of Oklahoma's American Indian tribes is 50).[citation needed] Descendants of these people still live in Oklahoma today. There are estimates of over a quarter of Oklahoma's white (and black) populations have a certain degree of American Indian ancestries.[citation needed]

Counties with the names of these tribes also exist. Oklahoma has the second highest number of Native Americans/Amerindians in the country estimated at 395,219 as of 2003. Only California has a higher Amerindian population at 682,720 [3]. Oklahoma also has the second highest concentration of Native Americans/Amerindians in the nation with 11.4% of the state's population, topped only by Alaska at 19% of that state's population. [4]. 39 of the Amerindian tribes currently living in Oklahoma are headquartered in the state. American Indians predominate in eastern Oklahoma, there are predominantly American Indian communities and towns.

In ethnic diversity, German Americans are present in the northwestern part of the state. Oklahomans of British (English or Scottish) ancestry dominate Tulsa and some other areas. African Americans are a plurality in Lawton and Oklahoma City, but have their own communities in Central parts of the state and the historic Black community of Greenwood inside the city of Tulsa.[citation needed]. While Pittsburg county has many Irish Americans and North-central areas have some Swedish Americans, there are small close-knit Italian American and Slavic American (i.e. Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Czech and Slovak) communities (Enid, McAlester, Prague and Fort Gibson) in the state's eastern parts.

Oklahoma City has the largest Asian American population in the state. In fact, Oklahoma City's population is 1.6% Vietnamese, which is the twelfth-highest percentage among major American cities. Oklahoma City's gentrified Asian District grew from Vietnamese American immigrants who were relocated to the state in the 1980s. While many of the neighborhood's residents and businesses are Vietnamese American, significant numbers of Chinese, Thai, Filipino, and Korean Americans also live, work, and study in the Asian district and surrounding area.

A few western counties have significant Mexican American populations; since 1990, immigrants from Latin America settled down mostly in sections of Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Arab Americans became a sizable ethnic group in the state's urban areas since the first wave of immigrants in the 1970s, the majority came from the oil-rich Persian Gulf countries. 6.8% of Oklahoma's population was reported as under 5, 25.9% under 18, and 13.2% was 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.9% of the population. The state has an above-average birth rate than most of the United States. Oklahoma has dealt with many socioeconomic issues, as the state's rank of annual household income is 36th in the 2000 US Census, below national average and the state's poverty rate exceeds 15 percent, higher in rural areas. The state's 2000 per capita personal income was $23,517, 43rd in the nation. However, Oklahoma's cost of living index also among the lowest in the nation.[18] Oklahoma City suburb Nichols Hills is ranked first on Oklahoma locations by per capita income at $73,661.

Oklahoma is part of the primarily Evangelical Protestant region known as the "Bible Belt" spanning the Southeast and Midwest states, also known for strong politically and socially conservative views.[citation needed] Tulsa is considered one of the "Buckles" of the Bible Belt, as it is the home of Oral Roberts University.

The people of Oklahoma participate in 73 major religious affiliations ranging from the Southern Baptist Convention with 1578 churches and 967,223 members to the Holy Orthodox Church in North America with 1 church and 6 members. The state has a large Methodist population at over 300,000 members.[citation needed] Oklahoma has a comparably small Jewish community concentrated in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, and a growing Muslim population from recent immigrants from the Middle East also resides in the state's major cities.[citation needed] Oklahoma has over 10,000 Native American members in the Native American Church, but most Native Americans are practicing Christians, the majority are Baptists and Methodists, and some Catholics of French and Spanish influences like the Seminole and Quapaw tribes.

The 10 most popular religious affiliations (including "none") account for more than 90% of all Oklahomans:[19]

• Unclaimed - 39.24%
• Southern Baptist – 28.03%
• United Methodist Church – 9.35%
• Roman Catholic – 4.89%
• Assemblies of God – 2.56%
• Church of Christ – 2.41%
• Disciples of Christ - 1.56%
• Evangelical Christian Churches - 1.24%
• Church of the Nazarene - 1.06
• Presbyterian Church (USA) - 1.02%

Note: Terms shown are the ones used by ARDA; Catholic Church, for instance, versus Roman Catholic Church. The ARDA also notes that their data undercounts traditionally-black churches.

Oklahoma Population Density Map