A $213.5 billion
machine.
Step outside the capitol and the bigger income statement is the whole economy. It grew 1.5% in real terms in 2025, and its engine room has diversified well beyond the derrick.
Oil still leads.
It no longer
stands alone.
Where it ranks
- Economy
- People
Economy
#6
US crude-oil producer
Economy
#3
US wind-power producer
Economy
206k
Aerospace & defense jobs
Economy
$7.8B
Goods exports
24.9% year over year
People
$62,661
Per-capita income
Economy
23%
Economy from oil & gas
What that means
The quiet story here is energy convergence. The same windy plains that made Oklahoma the sixth oil state now make it third in wind, and almost all of its electricity-generation growth since 2010 has been wind. Tinker Air Force Base seeded an aerospace cluster now worth $44 billion and 206,000 jobs.
Concentration cuts both ways. Oil and gas is still about 23% of all economic activity and the swing factor in state tax receipts. When crude rolls over, gross-production tax can fall half a billion dollars in a single year — which is exactly what happened in FY2024.
An acre is an acre
until you measure
what it earns.
Every one of Oklahoma's 77 counties, measured by assessed property value divided by land area. The range runs from $57 an acre in Cimarron, out in the panhandle, to $24,831 an acre in Oklahoma County — a 436-fold spread.
The extremes
| County | Assessed value | Value per acre |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma County | $10.92B | $24,831 |
| Tulsa County | $8.70B | $23,175 |
| Cleveland County | $3.33B | $9,508 |
| Canadian County | $2.38B | $4,170 |
| Mayes County | $1.26B | $2,967 |
| Cimarron County | $0.07B | $57 |
Oklahoma and Tulsa counties together hold roughly 38% of the entire state property tax base on about 3% of its land. Infrastructure — roads, pipes, utilities — is built and maintained across the whole map, while the value that funds it concentrates in a few points. Every mile of new infrastructure is a long-term maintenance liability for the full tax base.
Not all spending
is equal.
When a dollar is spent at a locally-owned business, a measurably larger share recirculates within the community before it leaves. This is a documented economic effect, not an argument.
What Oklahoma buys
but does not make.
Technology & enterprise software
IT infrastructure and digital services for government and business, largely sourced out of state.
Medical devices & pharmaceutical distribution
Hospital supply chains dominated by out-of-state distributors.
Aerospace component manufacturing
Oklahoma runs the world's largest overhaul operation. Most components are imported.
Value-added food processing
Agricultural output leaves raw. Milling, packaging and specialty foods remain open.
Renewable energy components
Third in the country for wind. Most turbine and solar components are imported.
Professional & consulting services
Government and enterprise contracts flow significantly to out-of-state firms.