Hey there have you wondered about the differences between Tulsa and Oklahoma City? Well, I have a little experience with both so let’s check out the differences!
I’m Marcie Billen and I’m a real estate agent in Norman, Oklahoma with Rüya Team Realty and Keller Williams Mulinix. As a real estate agent, I create content about the real estate market – mostly areas around Norman, Moore, and south Oklahoma City. And you may know me from my Oklahoma Pros and Cons video that I have on YouTube.
So who am I to talk about the differences between Tulsa and Oklahoma City? Well, I actually grew up near Tulsa in a town called Claremore. I wouldn’t say that I necessarily grew up in the suburbs of Tulsa, however my dad did drive to Tulsa to go to work every single day and of course we made you know, lots of trips to Tulsa over different weeks and months because that was a big city and that’s where you went. Visiting Tulsa was nearly a monthly occurrence for us, and I still go there a lot because my family still lives in Claremore. Then when I was 19, I chose to go to the University of Oklahoma which is in Norman, which is south of Oklahoma City. Again, not really a suburb, although lots of people do drive from Norman to Oklahoma City to work every day. I’m going to share with you my observations about these two cities and outline some different things for you. So, let me start with a short history of both cities.
Oklahoma City History
I’m kind of a nerd – I love history and you can’t really understand the present day without looking at the history of some place, so I’m going to start with Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City was founded in 1889 with the land run whenever all these families and people from across the U.S. traveled to the city of Guthrie, which is north of Oklahoma City, and the then capital of Oklahoma territory to participate in this sort of, race to claim different sections of land, basically, from the town of Guthrie, all the way south to the town of Washington. Essentially, the entire Oklahoma City metro area was settled in 1889 with this land run. This event was kind of weird, kind of crazy, and pretty controversial.
Oklahoma became a state then, in 1907 and soon after that, Oklahoma City became the capital of Oklahoma. At that time, Oklahoma City was known for its stockyards and still has a pretty big stockyards, to this day. Then oil was discovered in Oklahoma City limits in 1928, and soon the oil and gas industry overtook the stockyards for the major economic industry at the time. Oil and gas is still our major industry for Oklahoma.
What other things is Oklahoma City is famous for? If you’re a basketball fan, you may know we’re famous for our NBA team, the Thunder. They moved from Seattle in 2008. Another thing that most people know about, is the 1995 Murrah Building bombing, or the federal building bombing, or what we know as the Oklahoma City bomb. This was actually one of my first memories as a child – I remember watching it on the news. It’s one of the only things I remember from the time of my life. This event was devastating. It killed 168 people and over 100 buildings were impacted.
Tulsa History
Tulsa was actually settled between 1828 and 1836 by a Native American tribe. That tribe is now known as the Creek Nation or the Muskogee Nation. So, they named the settlement of Tulsa ‘Tulasi’. I’m probably not saying that correctly, but I’m doing the best that I can, and that morphed into the name of Tulsa for the city. The name ‘Tulasi’ in the old Creek language, actually means ‘old town.’
The area around Tulsa was settled by the Five Civilized Tribes, and if you don’t know anything about them, either google ‘Five Civilized Tribes’ or definitely look up ‘Trail of Tears’ and you’ll find a little bit of information. The Native American history for Oklahoma is complicated, tragic, and also very forming for our great state.
During most of the 20th century, Tulsa was known as being the oil capital of the world. Oil was discovered within Tulsa city limits in 1901 and the oil was on Native American land. If you’ve read this book, ‘The Killers of the Flower Moon,’ then you might know a little. This is a very popular New York Times bestseller book. Another thing that Tulsa is really famous for, tragically, is the Tulsa Race Massacre. This occurred in 1921 where a mob of white Tulsans attacked some black Tulsans and over the course of a day and a half, a lot of people were killed. We’re not totally sure on the amount of people, or how many, or who they were, but it’s something that in the 21st century Tulsa, as a city, is working to uncover the truth about that particular race massacre.
Obviously, that was just an overview of the histories of Tulsa and Oklahoma City. There’s a lot more to be found out there, but let’s move on to population.
Population
Oklahoma City sits at about number 25 in terms of most populated cities in the U.S. The number of inhabitants for the Oklahoma City metro sits at about 1 million, or under 1 million. For the city of Oklahoma City itself, the population is just under 650,000. Now for Tulsa, the population is also around 1 million, or just under 1 million for the entire Tulsa metro area, but the city itself has about 200,000 people less than Oklahoma City.
Universities
There are several universities, and I’m only going to talk about public universities for both of the metro areas. For the Oklahoma City metro area of course, we have the University of Oklahoma, which is where I’m school and it is a big 12 school. It is located in Norman, which is south of Oklahoma City. And then we also have the University of Central Oklahoma which is located in Edmond. It’s a public, four-year school, as well. And then there’s Langston University, which is located in Langston; public and four-year. So then in Tulsa, we have a lot more private universities.
There’s actually only one big four-year public university in the Tulsa metro, and that’s actually in Claremore. And that’s Rogers State University. Of course, Oklahoma has another big 12 school and that is the Oklahoma State University, which is located in Stillwater. It’s a little bit closer to Tulsa, but it’s definitely not in either one of the metros and it originated as the Ag school in Oklahoma.
Geography
Let’s talk about the geography of these two areas. They are very different and I want to point this out because that might help you decide on where you want to live, if you’re thinking of moving to Oklahoma. Oklahoma City is very flat – it is in the great plains. We don’t have really hills or mountains or anything like that. It’s literally The Great Plains, so we have the tall grass and some trees, but not as many as Tulsa.
In Tulsa, it’s actually in the foothills of the Ozarks, which is a mountain range that is mostly in Arkansas. That means that Tulsa has a lot more hills, a lot more forest. It means their climate’s just a tad bit cooler, but not by much, let me tell you. Typically, the climate for both Tulsa in Oklahoma City is long, hot summers and short, mild winters.
Lifestyle
For a lifestyle in Tulsa versus Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City has an NBA team the Thunder and they play at the Chesapeake Arena, which is in Bricktown (basically in downtown or just south of downtown Oklahoma City). Oklahoma City also includes Scissortail Park, which is a newer park for us and it’s right next to Chesapeake Green and has some great new hotels around it; it’s a very beautiful park. We also have Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City, which is on the north west side and it’s great for recreational activities and for just a great evening out because there’s some cool restaurants around it. You can boat on Lake Hefner, and then also there’s trails around it for walking, and frisbee golf, and all sorts of fun things. There’s a lot more to do in Oklahoma City, but you can definitely check those things out – those are some of my favorites.
Tulsa doesn’t have as many big sports opportunities, especially because of lack of universities or public universities, but they do have some really great things. And the number one thing that probably draws people to Tulsa for visiting, at this point, is The Gathering Place. The Gathering Place was voted as one of America’s best or favorite parks and it’s really very beautiful, very intricate, amazing place. I would definitely suggest that you check that out if you’re in Tulsa, or moving to Tulsa, or going to visit.
There’s also a rich history in Tulsa, like literally rich, because of that oil. So, we have some great museums in Tulsa, there’s some good music spots, and then also parks. And one thing that I haven’t mentioned about Oklahoma City and Tulsa is the casinos. They are a big draw for Oklahoma. Casinos are only ran by Native American nations, so they can be in kind of some funky places that you wouldn’t normally go to, however their, casinos can be great and have some great restaurants inside of them, good music opportunities, and different things like that. So definitely check out those casinos, if you’re interested.
For more information about the Oklahoma City Metro, check out this video! And if you have any questions about more difference between the two cities or need help with your real estate goals this year, feel free to call, text or email me!
