OK Policy Blog

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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

Child uninsured rate is a health care bright spot for Oklahoma

By: Carly Putnam
November 12, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Some new research highlights a rare health care success story for Oklahoma. A new report from the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families found that the United States’ child uninsured rate hit an all-time low of… Read more [More...]

Too many of Oklahoma’s military families are food insecure

By: Elizabeth Armstrong
November 11, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Elizabeth Armstrong is an OK Policy Intern and former military spouse. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Geography at Oklahoma State University where she also works as a Graduate Research Assistant. Her free time is spent playing with her… Read more [More...]

More ballot access reform is the best way to address historic low voter turnout (Guest post: Chris Powell)

By: Guest
November 10, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Chris Powell is past chair of the Oklahoma Libertarian Party. Fewer people voted in the 2014 Oklahoma gubernatorial election than have participated in any election for governor in this state since 1978, when the population was about 900,000 people smaller.… Read more [More...]

Newly updated: CountySTATS fact sheets for all 77 Oklahoma counties

By: Gene Perry
November 9, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
What are the top employment sectors in your county? What has been your county's population trend since statehood? How does your county compare for health and educational attainment? You can answer these questions and more with Oklahoma Policy Institute's newly redesigned and updated CountySTATS fact sheets for 2015... Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Open enrollment, renewed calls to end the income tax, and more…

By: Carly Putnam
November 8, 2015 // Updated: November 6, 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...]

What’s really behind Oklahoma’s rising Medicaid costs (Capitol Updates)

By: Steve Lewis
November 6, 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...]

‘End the income tax’ broken record plays on

By: Gene Perry
November 4, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
In a recent House interim study led by Rep. Mark McCullough, lawmakers returned to a subject that has been attempted several times in Oklahoma’s recent history. They once again looked at eliminating Oklahoma’s income tax or transforming it into a… Read more [More...]

Upcoming Event: Practice & Policy lecture series discusses early childhood education

By: Tyler Parette
November 3, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
On November 5, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) will host Dr. Naneida Lazarte for her lecture “Oklahoma School Readiness Reach-By-Risk Report 2015: Understanding Access to Quality Early Childhood Programs in the Context of Risk for Starting School Unprepared”… Read more [More...]

Affordable Care Act open enrollment: What you need to know

By: Carly Putnam
November 2, 2015 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Ah, fall: crunchy leaves on sidewalks, a hint of frost in the air, pumpkin spice everything… In other words, it’s time for open enrollment, the span between Nov. 1, 2015, and Jan. 31, 2016, when people can enroll in or… Read more [More...]

The Weekly Wonk: Better budget planning, a school meals success story, and more…

By: Carly Putnam
November 1, 2015 // Updated: October 31, 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...]

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