State bird
Scissor-tailed flycatcher
Sources: Designation & background
Local timeOklahoma City ·
U.S. States / South · Card 036
Oklahoma
The Sooner State
Chickasaw National Recreation Area contains springs, streams, lakes and woodland.
Oklahoma and its surroundings
● State capital · Gold highlights Oklahoma.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
Map: Natural Earth. Neighboring states use postal abbreviations.
At a glance
- Capital
- Oklahoma City
- Postal abbreviation
- OK
- Population
- 4,123,288July 1, 2025 · Census estimate
- Total area
- 181,037 km²69,899 square miles · land and water
- Statehood
- November 16, 1907State number 46
- Region
- South
Sources: Census · population · Census · area
State symbols & traditions
State song
Oklahoma!
Sources: Designation & background
State meal
A full menu including chicken-fried steak, barbecued pork, fried okra, cornbread and pecan pie.
Sources: Designation & background
Geography & flag
01
Location
Neighboring states: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Texas.
02
Landscape & places
Chickasaw National Recreation Area contains springs, streams, lakes and woodland. Water is central to the area’s natural character and recreational use, in contrast to the assumption that every Oklahoma landscape is dry prairie.
03
Land and water
The total area includes 177,660 km² of land and 3,377 km² of water, according to Census area measurements.
State flag
An Osage shield with feathers, crossed by an olive branch and pipe, on blue above the word Oklahoma.
Sources: Census · geographic reference · Census · area measurements · National Park Service · Chickasaw
How the landscape works
Chickasaw National Recreation Area includes springs, streams, lakes, and woods. That variety challenges an image of Oklahoma as uniformly dry prairie. Water sources influence both habitats and the ways people use a place. A single statewide stereotype can hide precisely the local features that make a landscape worth studying.
History
Why there was a proposal for a state called Sequoyah
Before statehood, the area of present-day Oklahoma included Oklahoma Territory and lands commonly called Indian Territory. Native nations had governments there after forced removals and other migrations. These were inhabited political communities, not vacant land awaiting settlement.
In 1905, Indigenous leaders and other delegates met at Muskogee to propose a separate state of Sequoyah from Indian Territory. They drafted a constitution, but Congress did not approve separate statehood. Instead, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were joined in the state of Oklahoma in 1907. The unsuccessful proposal shows that joint statehood was a contested choice rather than the only plan under discussion.
Read more: Historical source ↗
Why this mattered
The proposed state of Sequoyah emerged from Indian Territory before Oklahoma statehood. Its advocates sought a political arrangement distinct from combining Indian Territory with Oklahoma Territory. Congress did not admit Sequoyah; the two territories became the state of Oklahoma in 1907. The unsuccessful proposal reveals alternatives that existed before the final boundary and government were established.
Key dates
-
Oklahoma Territory organized
-
Statehood · State number 46
Sources: Congressional Research Service · statehood · U.S. Census Bureau · historical geography · National Park Service
People and place
Indigenous history and communities today
The Cherokee Nation is one of many tribal nations with governments in Oklahoma. Learning about Sequoyah and Indian Territory should lead into the continuing role of tribal governments, not imply that statehood replaced every tribal political institution.
Continue with Cherokee Nation. This is one starting point, not a complete account of the peoples connected to this land.
Compare
Oklahoma and Arkansas
| Measure | Oklahoma | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2025) | 4,123,288 | 3,114,791 |
| Land area (km²) | 177,660 | 134,771 |
| People per km² of land | 23.2 | 23.1 |
Oklahoma has more people per square kilometer of land. Population density divides population by land area. It is an average across the whole jurisdiction, not a claim that residents are evenly spread out.
Calculated from the Census population series and land-area measurements used on these pages. Rounded figures; water area is excluded. Explore Arkansas.
Economy
Main activities
In 2025, government and government enterprises was the largest of the broad industry groups compared here by current-dollar output. Other major groups included real estate and rental and leasing, professional and business services, and educational services, health care, and social assistance.
Total economic output was $274.4 billion in current dollars in 2025.
Largest industry groups · 2025
- Government and government enterprises: 15.8%
- Real estate and rental and leasing: 11.1%
- Professional and business services: 9.7%
- Educational services, health care, and social assistance: 8.8%
Share of total current-dollar GDP. These figures measure output, not employment.
Sources: BEA · annual GDP by state, SAGDP2
Production, jobs and wages answer different questions
The industry chart measures the value of production. It does not count workers. An industry with a large share of GDP need not employ the most people or pay the highest wages. Employment and wage data would be needed to answer those questions.
Population & economic trends
Population, 2020–2025
Millions of people4.122025 · millions of people
July 1 resident population estimates, using the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 series.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau
View data table
| Year | People |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 3,965,243 |
| 2021 | 3,992,760 |
| 2022 | 4,025,327 |
| 2023 | 4,062,716 |
| 2024 | 4,097,758 |
| 2025 | 4,123,288 |
Real GDP, 2010–2025
Billions of chained 2017 dollars213.492025 · billions of chained 2017 dollars
Real GDP measures economic output adjusted for inflation. The chart uses BEA’s chained 2017 dollars.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
View data table
| Year | Millions of chained 2017 dollars |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 158,086.4 |
| 2011 | 163,859.3 |
| 2012 | 172,016.0 |
| 2013 | 176,086.8 |
| 2014 | 186,574.4 |
| 2015 | 193,792.6 |
| 2016 | 190,093.5 |
| 2017 | 192,538.6 |
| 2018 | 196,030.5 |
| 2019 | 200,072.2 |
| 2020 | 191,377.0 |
| 2021 | 194,991.2 |
| 2022 | 194,170.9 |
| 2023 | 207,072.7 |
| 2024 | 210,315.9 |
| 2025 | 213,489.8 |
Read the trend, then ask what explains it
Oklahoma’s population increased by about 4.0% between 2020 and 2025 in this series. That shows the size of the change. The chart alone cannot tell us how much came from births, deaths or migration.
Real GDP adjusts for changes in prices, so it helps compare production over time. Current-dollar GDP includes price changes. Neither measure tells us how income is distributed among residents.
Representation
- Electoral votes
- 72024 & 2028 elections
- Voting U.S. House seats
- 52020 Census allocation
- U.S. Senate seats
- 2
Electoral votes equal the state’s U.S. House seats plus its two U.S. Senate seats. These allocations apply to the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.
Practice
Test your knowledge
Use the explanations and data on this page to answer ten questions. Hints and links to the relevant sections are available throughout.
10 questions about Oklahoma
Show a hint
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Sources & notes
Narrative and quiz updated 5 October 2026. Statistical data prepared 27 September 2026. Population: Census Bureau Vintage 2025, July 1 estimates for 2020–2025. Real GDP: BEA annual state accounts, SAGDP9, millions of chained 2017 dollars; industry shares: SAGDP2, current dollars. Data downloaded 27 September 2026. Area measurements include land and water.
Sources: Census · population estimates · BEA · state GDP · Census · area measurements · Natural Earth · map data
The capital clock shows current local time. Statistical figures are dated estimates and may be revised.
Updated 29 October 2026. Statistics retain the dated series shown in the charts; these are not live figures. Sources are linked beside each topic.