Why So Few Americans Live In Oklahoma As Compared To Texas

Oklahoma is just north of Texas. But despite sharing similar geographic features, Texas has grown at a much faster rate in terms of population and economy than Oklahoma. In the case of these two states, history and geography combine to create this unique scenario today.

[amiga]

As a Oklahoman, I enjoyed you video about our state. A small correction concerning your reference to the "Oklahoma River". The actual river is the North Canadian river. The Oklahoma River is just a 7 mile section of the North Canadian that runs through the center of Oklahoman City and has only existed since 2004. You also gave me a chuckle concerning your pronunciation of Osage and Ouachita. Osage is Oh sage like the plant. Ouachita is pronounced Waa shee taw. (You also mispelled Ouachita.) It's okay, it takes a lot of Oklahomas a life time to properly pronounce a lot of the Native American influenced words you find throughout the state.

[billwhitman]

Oklahoma lost a lot of its population during the Dust Bowl. I'm surprised you didn't mention that.

[FriedPi-mcyt]

My great great grandfather came to Oklahoma on the Chickasaw Trail of Tears. I grew up in the D/FW area. Went to Oklahoma after I got out of the service. Got connected to my Chickasaw culture and raised a family with my wife. The slow pace of life agrees with me. I love it here. I love being involved with my tribe. It’s a great place to live if you have simple tastes and like a slow pace to your life.

[defenestrationfan]

In the 60s my brother worked in NYC and was asked about his state of origin - Oklahoma. He told his friend that the state had just got electricity the year before (as a joke) - and the guy believed him! Next year we were going to get indoor plumbing.

[captianpj]

All of the major oil companies were headquartered in Tulsa and nearby cities until the oil embargo in the 70s. In fact, Phillips Petroleum is the reason Bartlesville has an impressive skyline for its size.

[dewcodered]

"but for most Oklahomans that's perfectly OK... Most people who live there are perfectly happier having fewer people nearby and a slower pace to life." That is well said! Very cool video :)

[jackjumper]

14:04 I live in Texas, and I have had many friends from Oklahoma and it is a prime example of how short distances can produce very different cultures.

[ALsBlkLS]

I live in Oklahoma and the last statement is true. Families don’t really leave Oklahoma and it’s almost a tight knit community. Every family has history of Indians and even my kids are registered Cherokee. Such an interesting state and glad to be here. Tulsa!

[cafe]

I really was surprised when I get to know Oklahoma has 4M population. It’s as populous as Oregon or Louisiana. To be fair, it’s still a fair amount of population for interior of the US, compared to the west coast Oregon or gulf coast Louisiana.

[stuffnstuff]

As a Oklahoman, I can confirm we did the best job to keep people out of our state :)

[derekatkins]

I’d like to add one correction to this video: Although its headquarters may be in Houston today, Phillips 66 was originally headquartered in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, which is located about 40 miles or so north of Tulsa. I’ve been to Bartlesville many times, since my mom lives there (it’s actually her hometown), and I’ve seen the house that the Phillips family lived in. A lot of history connected with Phillips 66 can be found in Bartlesville.

[kadenreed]

As someone who grew up in Oklahoma then moved to Texas for high school and college, I can confirm that many people move to Texas for job opportunities. Also, if you’re an immigrant, it is easier to find a community and ethnic food and products in big Texas cities compared to Oklahoma. But as someone who also moved back to Oklahoma, I can say that I do like the slower pace of life and lack of traffic quite a lot.

[Confusione_Infinito_Absurdum]

Odd fact: Oklahoma is slightly bigger and more populous than the entire country of Uruguay.

[truthmarshal]

I have lived in north Texas my entire life. But spend time in Oklahoma often. I have considered making it my home. Currently I am trying to convince my wife that we should buy property in southwest Oklahoma for a cabin and getaway. I love the remoteness and lack of people. Too many people in Texas and is strongly dislike urban areas. In my opinion and experience, there are many good folks there.

[yno]

The thing is, a lot of grads who graduate from OU / OSU find that all the jobs are in Dallas. It’s the reason you see so many Oklahomans have to move to Texas.

[asfadsf]

I believe you missed a very important factor to the lack of population in Oklahoma, being the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Over 440, 000 people migrated out of Oklahoma during this time due to the weather. The dust bowl was a natural and manmade event. Abnormally die (natural) which over farming/over tilling (manmade) destroying the natural grass lands leaving a desert, more or less. Another huge drop happened in the mid 1980s during the "oil glut". Both events could be responsible for 2-4 million people today with birth rates alone (At these times). So, if these events didn't happen Oklahoma's population could now potentially be 6-8 million people.

[Ghojh]

I’m not native to Oklahoma but have recently called it home. Its geography is actually amazing when you consider all the variety of environments we have here! There’s the alabaster caverns with deposits of some of the rarest gypsum in the world! There’s sand dunes, the majestic witchita and quartz mountians and so much more!! That being said we do also have terrible infrastructure, parks n rec scandals/underfunding, and one of the worst superfund sites in picher!

[davidjackson]

You may have cared to mention that there was a significant amount of immigration from Oklahoma during the 30's dust bowl era and WW2 in the 40's when the population decreased by over 60, 000 or 8%.

[Zotty]

I feel like you forgot a very imported small town. Cushing has the largest oil tank farm in the world that's why they call it "Pipeline Crossroad of the World"

[danlayne]

As an Okie, all I have to say is that one just needs to drive through it to see why so few live here. Outside of the local college sports team named after land thieves, this state really has nothing going for it. Tornadoes, ice storms, flooding, and, somehow, earthquakes. We're near the bottom of every Quality of Life metric imaginable.
Why do I live here? My parents retired to here and I wanted my kids to know them before they pass. And, it is relatively inexpensive to live here.