April 2021
Executive Summary
This report analyzes employment and wage data from the American Community Survey on Oklahoma County, Oklahoma City MSA, and the State of Oklahoma. The report is divided into two parts, a Demographic Profile and an Economic Profile.
In the Demographic Profile, we look at the composition of race/ethnicity in each reference area. We find a higher proportion of the population comprises of non-Whites in Oklahoma County compared to both OKC MSA and the State of Oklahoma. Focusing on trends in Oklahoma County, we find the most significant population growth is within the Black and Hispanic/Latino population. We then use various projection techniques and reason toward a forecast estimate of 833,111 for the total population in Oklahoma County in 2026.
In the Economic Profile, we begin by investigating the trends in various measures of the labor force, income, and poverty in Oklahoma County over the 2010 – 2018 period. We also find that incomes are higher in Oklahoma County compared to the state as a whole but poverty rates are slightly higher as well. Next, we compare all three areas in terms of their level of employment and wages by NAICS industry sector in 2018. Notably, we find a higher concentration of public administration, management, and professional service sector employment in Oklahoma County relative to both reference areas. This is to be expected given the location of the state capital and various business headquarters and tells us these sectors bring in a lot of dollars from the rest of the state to Oklahoma County. Also, in all three areas, mining (mostly from the oil industry) is the sector with the largest wages.
We then focus on Oklahoma County to examine employment and wage trends by industry sector in 2010 – 2018. We find over 50% employment growth in management and transportation and over 50% in utilities. Wage growth for mining nearly doubled at 94.52% over the period. Using the prosperity index, we examine relationships between wage growth and employment growth. Our results show that mid- and high-wage industries are experiencing higher growth in wages relative to employment than most low-wage industries. This suggests growing levels of income inequality within Oklahoma County.
In the last section, we forecast employment by industry sector for Oklahoma County in 2026. We forecast a 10.51% increase in total employment toward a total of 496,984.
In the Demographic Profile, we look at the composition of race/ethnicity in each reference area. We find a higher proportion of the population comprises of non-Whites in Oklahoma County compared to both OKC MSA and the State of Oklahoma. Focusing on trends in Oklahoma County, we find the most significant population growth is within the Black and Hispanic/Latino population. We then use various projection techniques and reason toward a forecast estimate of 833,111 for the total population in Oklahoma County in 2026.
In the Economic Profile, we begin by investigating the trends in various measures of the labor force, income, and poverty in Oklahoma County over the 2010 – 2018 period. We also find that incomes are higher in Oklahoma County compared to the state as a whole but poverty rates are slightly higher as well. Next, we compare all three areas in terms of their level of employment and wages by NAICS industry sector in 2018. Notably, we find a higher concentration of public administration, management, and professional service sector employment in Oklahoma County relative to both reference areas. This is to be expected given the location of the state capital and various business headquarters and tells us these sectors bring in a lot of dollars from the rest of the state to Oklahoma County. Also, in all three areas, mining (mostly from the oil industry) is the sector with the largest wages.
We then focus on Oklahoma County to examine employment and wage trends by industry sector in 2010 – 2018. We find over 50% employment growth in management and transportation and over 50% in utilities. Wage growth for mining nearly doubled at 94.52% over the period. Using the prosperity index, we examine relationships between wage growth and employment growth. Our results show that mid- and high-wage industries are experiencing higher growth in wages relative to employment than most low-wage industries. This suggests growing levels of income inequality within Oklahoma County.
In the last section, we forecast employment by industry sector for Oklahoma County in 2026. We forecast a 10.51% increase in total employment toward a total of 496,984.
