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The Crossroads of America
Greater Oklahoma City is in the geographic center of North America equidistant from the east and west coasts and major trade partners of Canada and Mexico. The ten county region is at the crossroads of the U.S., sitting at the heart of three major national highways on the NAFTA corridor.
There's a reason Greater Oklahoma City is such a great place for business: Location. The ten county region is positioned within a day's drive of the rapidly-growing south-central region (OK, TX, AR, LA) projected to grow more than 44% during the next 25 years.
Explore the counties and cities of Greater Oklahoma City including major employers and higher education. The ten county region boasts an average commute time of 20 minutes and a skilled workforce over half a million strong.
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Forbes names Oklahoma City as nation's most affordable
Noting low costs of living and good jobs, Forbes named Oklahoma City America's Most Affordable City.
At the height of the Great Recession, Forbes.com said Oklahoma City was the most recession-proof city in the country. Two and a half years later, the magazine has given the city another top ranking.
Noting low costs of living and good jobs, Forbes named Oklahoma City as America's Most Affordable City.
The magazine also noted Oklahoma City's friendly residents and an unemployment rate well below the national average, 6.3 percent compared to 9.5 percent.
"We searched for cities that had a balance of cheap living and economic prosperity - places with solid job markets, but where costs aren't prohibitive," magazine editors said. "In these cities, costs have stayed down, but residents have held onto steady incomes and decent jobs, making them a true bargain."
Forbes looked at all metropolitan statistical areas with populations of at least 100,000. They were ranked on the cost of a basket of goods and services, including groceries, health care and transportation, as of the second quarter of 2010.
The magazine also measured the monthly cost of housing as a percentage of household income.
The average sale price of an Oklahoma City-area home in September was $158,755, up 6.7 percent from September 2009, and the median price was $135,000, up 4.8 percent, according to the Oklahoma City Metro Association of Realtors.
The next four spots on the Forbes list went to Pittsburgh; Buffalo, N.Y.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Nashville, Tenn. The top 10 also includes three Texas cities: San Antonio, Houston and Austin, along with Louisville, Ky., and Birmingham, Ala.
"State capitals and university towns have vibrancy because of their job base, the stability of jobs and cultural diversification," said James Gaines, a research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Continuing praise
The ranking was the latest in a string of kudos for Oklahoma City. In October, Oklahoma City was named a Top 25 Performing City by the Milken Institute, No. 7 Best City for Income Growth by Portfolio.com, a Top 5 Fastest Growing City by Forbes and a Top 10 State for Doing Business by Area Development Magazine.
"In times like these, value is key to everything we do as a chamber," said Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. "From attracting new business, retaining and fostering growth with our current companies to attracting conventions and visitors, the number one factor on everyone's mind is value. Affordability isn't always about being the cheapest, it is also about the quality you get for your dollar."
The Boeing Co. recently announced plans to move 550 high-paying engineering jobs here. The company cited low costs of living and doing business and economic development incentives in the decision to move the jobs from Long Beach, Calif.
Clean-energy jobs in Oklahoma climbing, Pew study shows
Published: Thursday, June 11, 2009 7:00 am By: Rod WaltonClean-energy jobs in Oklahoma climbing, Pew study shows
Oklahoma's clean-energy industry still lags that of other neighboring states, but its job growth rate was three times faster than all other sectors statewide, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts study released Wednesday.
Oklahoma's mix of clean-energy businesses, including wind and geothermal efforts, grew by 6.8 percent from 1998 to 2007, the study concluded. The overall job growth rate statewide was 2.4 percent for the same period.
Oklahoma Energy Secretary Bobby Wegener put some perspective on the numbers, noting that alternative industries were smaller and thus more likely to put up bigger growth percentages.
Yet those statistics may point which way the economic wind blows.
"It illustrates the point that there are some real opportunities in Oklahoma's future in maintaining this sustainable-energy economy," Wegener said. "It's important for us to diversify."
An April study by the American Wind Energy Association indicated that Oklahoma ranked No. 12 nationally in total megawatts of installed capacity in 2008, down from No. 9 the previous year.
Oklahoma wind farms could generate 831 megawatts as of December, the association reported.
The Pew study indicated that clean-energy jobs nationally grew at a 9.1 percent clip for the 10 years that ended in 2007. Oklahoma employs nearly 5,500 people in jobs supporting those renewable power sources.
"Oklahoma has a small but growing piece of America's clean energy economy, with jobs in the clean energy economic sector growing more than three times as fast as total jobs," said Kil Huh, the Pew project director and lead researcher.
The report said that venture capitalists poured more than $5 million into Oklahoma clean-energy projects in the past three years. These projects included wind, geothermal and biofuels.
One anemic area of Oklahoma's energy picture is nuclear power.
The state was one of only nine with fewer than 100 nuclear-energy jobs as of 2007.
Wegener supports the theory that Oklahoma needs all of the alternative sources to keep itself viable economically.