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2024 Census data: Oklahoma ranks as 8th poorest state

By: Dave Hamby
September 11, 2025 // Updated: September 12, 2025
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, released Sept. 11, show that Oklahoma’s poverty rate was 14.9 percent, which means that more than 1 in 7 state residents live in poverty. While the state’s overall poverty rate… Read more More...

Recent Posts

The Weekly Wonk: Tackling the teacher shortage, school district consolidation, and more…

By: Carly Putnam
December 20, 2015 // Updated: December 18, 2015
What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly W onk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing,… Read more [More...]

Another cry for school consolidation (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
December 18, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.… Read more [More...]

Teacher recruitment legislation not enough to fix Oklahoma’s teacher shortage (Guest Post: Jennifer Job)

By: David Blatt
December 17, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This is the third of a three-part series appearing this week on the OK Policy Blog that examines the reasons behind Oklahoma’s teacher shortage and what we can do to fix it. You can read part one here and read… Read more [More...]

Study shows higher teacher pay would ease teacher shortage, boost student outcomes

By: David Blatt
December 16, 2015 // Updated: June 17, 2020
This is the second of a three-part series appearing this week on the OK Policy Blog examine the reasons behind Oklahoma’s teacher shortage and what we can do to fix it. You can see part one here and see part… Read more [More...]

Statement: Budget emergency won’t be solved by doubling down on cuts

By: Gene Perry
December 15, 2015 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Oklahoma Policy Institute released the following statement in response to official projections that Oklahoma will enact midyear budget cuts this year and is expecting a $900.8 million budget hole next year: The projected mid-year cuts and next year’s massive budget… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma’s teacher shortage is not just about salaries (Guest Post: John Lepine)

By: Guest
December 14, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
This is the first of a three-part series appearing this week on the OK Policy Blog that will examine the reasons behind Oklahoma’s teacher shortage and what we can do to fix it. You can read part two here and… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Per-pupil funding, the Rainy Day Fund, the end of poverty, and more…

By: Carly Putnam
December 13, 2015 // Updated: December 13, 2015
What’s up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly W onk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing,… Read more [More...]

Would expanding the Rainy Day Fund help Oklahoma’s revenue problems? (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
December 11, 2015 // Updated: May 1, 2019
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol. You can sign up on his website to receive the Capitol Updates newsletter by email.… Read more [More...]

New report: Oklahoma’s education funding per student drops even more

By: Gene Perry
December 10, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Oklahoma continues to lead the nation for the largest cuts to general school funding since the start of the recession, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. After inflation, Oklahoma’s general preK-12 education funding… Read more [More...]

We’re looking for spring interns

By: Gene Perry
December 9, 2015 // Updated: December 9, 2015
We are now accepting student applicants for paid, part-time internships focusing on research or advocacy during the spring of 2016. Interns will be expected to work between 10 and 20 hours per week, depending on their schedules and availability. Research… Read more [More...]

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