OKPOLICY.ORG
Friday, December 30
11 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma children in immigrant families in 2009, 101,000 in total; 89,000 of these children are U.S. citizens.
Source: Kids Count Data Center
Thursday, December 29
270,894
Meals served to older Oklahomans in one month through the Department of Human Services elderly support services, October 2011
Source: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Wednesday, December 28
86.6 million
Acre-feet of water in the state’s largest groundwater basin, the Ogallala Aquifer, enough to submerge the entire state two feet deep.
Source: Oklahoma Water Resources Board
Tuesday, December 27
1,829,420
Number of Facebook users in Oklahoma, ranking 28th in the country in residents on Facebook.
Source: Socialbakers
Friday, December 23
5.4 billion
Number of cookies Santa would eat if he visited every house in the world.
Source: Lee BioSolutions via Yahoo News
Thursday, December 22
$1.3 million
Amount of economic activity generated by each Oklahoma City Thunder home game.
Source: Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce via New York Times
Wednesday, December 21
49th
Oklahoma’s rank for percentage of women in the state legislature, 12.8 percent in 2011.
Source: Center for American Women in Politics
Tuesday, December 20
$222 million
Total export sales of tires, Oklahoma’s second most exported product, 2007
Source: Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce
Monday, December 19
64 percent
Percentage of Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) patients in Oklahoma who live in rural areas; 31 percent of the state’s population lives in rural areas
Source: National Association of Community Health Centers.
Friday, December 16
446M
BTU’s of energy consumed per capita in Oklahoma in 2007, 11th most in the nation.
Source: U.S. Census
Thursday, December 15
91.2 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma farms owned by individuals or families, 2007
Source: USDA
Wednesday, December 14
307,253
Number of filers in the state that claimed the Oklahoma Earned Income Tax Credit on their 2009 returns.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Tuesday, December 13
47th
Oklahoma’s rank among the states on early prenatal care – the percentage of women who receive prenatal care within the first trimester, 2011
Source: United Health Foundation
Monday, December 12
3.4 percent
Percentage growth in year to date total adjusted retail sales in Oklahoma, compared to 2010
Source: Center for Economic and Management Research via OESC
Friday, December 9
18 percent
Percentage drop in the total mail volume of the U.S. Postal Service between 2000 and 2010
Source: United States Postal Service via Tulsa World
Thursday, December 8
61,000 tons
Amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitted annually by the three oldest coal-fired power plants in Oklahoma, currently out of compliance with the Clean Air Act. SO2 is a toxic gas that is known to affect lung function when inhaled.
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
Wednesday, December 7
60 percent
Percentage discount on the average foreclosed property’s price versus the average property’s price in Oklahoma, the largest percentage of savings of any state in the country as of October 2011.
Source: RealtyTrac
Tuesday, December 6
100,213
Number of Oklahoma children living in homes where the householders are grandparents or other relatives in 2010, 10.8 percent of the children in the state.
Source: U.S. Census via AARP
Monday, December 5
31 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma women aged 18-35 years who reported being sexual assaulted in their lifetime, 2006.
Source: OU POLL via Oklahoma State Department of Health
Friday, December 2
315,000
Number of people who dropped out of the labor force in November, more than double the number who found jobs.
Source: Labor Department via NYTimes.Com
Thursday, December 1
$816M
In online sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, up 26 percent compared with the same day a year ago.
Source: ComScore via ABC News
Wednesday, November 30
2.5 percent
Amount Oklahoma’s appropriated state budget is projected to grow from FY ’12 to FY ’13.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Tuesday, November 29
2,440
Average weekly initial unemployment claims in Oklahoma as of mid-November, down 19.5 percent from the same period in 2010.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Monday, November 28
22.2 percent
Percentage increase in child abuse and neglect investigations conducted in Oklahoma between September 2010 and 2011.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Friday, November 25
7.5 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma households with very low food security – reporting disrupted meal patterns and hunger – in 2010, up from 5.6 percent in 2004.
Source: USDA
Thursday, November 24
4,500
Calories consumed by the average American on Thanksgiving Day, 2 1/4 times more than the recommended daily intake.
Source: Calorie Control Council
Wednesday, November 23rd
$12,900
Average annual health insurance premium for an employer-sponsored family plan in Oklahoma in 2010, up 48 percent since 2003.
Source: The Commonwealth Fund
Tuesday, November 22nd
2nd
Oklahoma City’s rank on a list of metropolitan areas with the largest increases in income segregation – the concentration of households in either poor or affluent residential areas – between 2000 and 2007; Tulsa ranked 17th
Source: Stanford University
Monday, November 21st
$63.53
Amount per month more the average Oklahoma household paid for gasoline in 2011, compared to 2010.
Source: Oil Price Information Service via EnergyTrap.org
Friday, November 18th
1.7 percent
Percentage of U.S. residents that moved from one state to another per year between 2001 and 2010; only about 30 percent of Americans change states over their entire lifetime.
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities via Oklahoma Policy Institute
Thursday, November 17th
88.7
Preventable hospitalizations per 1,000 Medicare patients in Oklahoma in 2010 compared 70.6 nationally; preventable hospitalizations are diagnoses amenable to non-hospital care.
Source: America’s Health Rankings
Wednesday, November 16th
76 percent
Percentage of 8th grade students in Oklahoma with computer access in their classrooms in 2007; just 50 percent of 8th grade students nationally had computer access.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
Tuesday, November 15th
$636
Median monthly gross rent -rent plus utilities- for renters in Oklahoma, 8th lowest in the nation in 2009.
Source: U.S. Census
Monday, November 14th
26
Number of months since the Great Recession began 45 months ago that Oklahoma has experienced job losses, including 800 non-farm jobs lost in September 2011.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, November 11th
10.4 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma small businesses (<500 employees) owned by veterans, compared to 9 percent nationally, 2007
Source: Small Business Administration
Thursday, November 10th
3.2 million
Metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions avoided annually in Oklahoma through wind power generation, 2010
Source: American Wind Energy Association
Wednesday, November 9th
7th
Oklahoma’s rank among the states for the export value of its wheat crop – worth $363.9 million dollars in 2010
Source: USDA
Tuesday, November 8th
58 percent
Percentage of FDIC-insured institutions in Oklahoma with earnings gains as of June 2011, compared to just 36 percent during the same period in 2009.
Source: FDIC
Monday, November 7th
23
Number of earthquakes in Oklahoma this weekend, including the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the state.
Source: New York Times
Friday, November 4th
$10,256
Amount the federal government spent per Oklahoma resident last year – $38.5 billion in federal dollars came into the state in total.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Thursday, November 3rd
27, 340
Number of practicing nurses in Oklahoma in 2009 – that’s 1 nurse for every 125 Oklahomans.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Wednesday, November 2nd
5
Number of years on average it took for a full-time student seeking a bachelor’s degree in Oklahoma to complete their course work in 2008; the average for all states was 4.8 years.
Source: Complete College America
Tuesday, November 1st
8.1 percent
Percentage growth in manufacturing employment in Oklahoma since the start of 2011; the state has added 10,800 manufacturing jobs to the economy.
Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
Monday, October 31
6th
Oklahoma’s rank nationally in per capita personal income growth; per capita personal income grew 2.2 percent between the 2nd qtr of 2010 and 2011, compared to 1.6 percent nationally.
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Friday, October 28
533
Number of operating school districts in Oklahoma for the 2010-2011 school year, 9th most in the nation.
Source: National Education Association
Thursday, October 27
5.9 percent
Oklahoma’s unemployment rate for September 2011, up slightly from the previous month’s rate of 5.6 percent.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Tuesday, October 25
3,632
Number of bankruptcy filings in Oklahoma during the 2nd quarter of this year, down 14 percent from the same quarter in 2010.
Source: USCourts.gov
Monday, October 24
58
Number of USDA certified organic farms in Oklahoma, representing just one half of one percent of the 10,903 certified organic farms in the United States in 2008.
Source: USDA
Friday, October 21
54.6
People per square mile in Oklahoma in 2010, compared to 87.3 people per square mile in the country as a whole
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Thursday, October 20
45th
Oklahoma’s rank nationally in prevalence of adult diabetes; 11.0 percent of the adult population in Oklahoma had diabetes in 2010, compared to only 8.3 percent nationally
Source: America’s Health Rankings
Wednesday, October 19
8
Number of states with no broad-based individual income tax that Oklahoma out-competed in per capita personal income growth, 2000-2010; Wyoming was the only state with no income tax to grow faster than Oklahoma.
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Tuesday, October 18
4.7 percent
Percentage of mortgages in Oklahoma that were seriously delinquent during the 2nd quarter of 2011, compared to 6.9 percent nationally.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Monday, October 17
$3,245,979,000
Total amount earned on investment by Oklahoma’s state and local public employee retirement systems in FY 2009.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Friday, October 14
16.43 inches
Amount statewide average precipitation was below normal this water year (October 1-September 30), the 2nd driest year on record for Oklahoma.
Source: Oklahoma Climatological Survey
Thursday, October 13
80.3
Number of primary care physicians per 100,000 people in Oklahoma, compared to 120.5 nationally. Oklahoma ranked 49th in availability of primary care physicians, 2010
Source: America’s Health Rankings
Wednesday, October 12
$31,600
Minimum amount in salary and fringe benefits earned by a first-year Oklahoma public school teacher with a bachelor’s degree, 2011-2012
Source: Oklahoma State Department of Education
Tuesday, October 11
1,865
Number of foreclosures in Oklahoma in August, down 5.8 percent from the same month in 2010
Source: RealtyTrac via RealEstateInvestorDaily.com
Monday, October 10
29 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma’s K-12 children who are on their own after school, 2009
Source: Afterschool Alliance
Friday, October 7
12th
Metropolitan Oklahoma City’s rank nationally on a list of smoggiest combined statistical areas as of August 2011; Metropolitan Tulsa ranked 14th smoggiest.
Source: EPA via Environment America Research & Policy Center
Thursday, October 6
6.0 percent
Percentage increase in the urban Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for groceries over the past twelve months, August 2011
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Wednesday, October 5
2 in 5
Working-aged adults living in poverty in Oklahoma were employed part-time or full-time in 2010
Source: Census Bureau via Oklahoma Policy Institute
Tuesday, October 4
7.0 percent
Percentage by which total compensation paid to state employees ($62,215) lagged behind their private sector counterparts ($66,578), FY ‘10
Source: Office of Personnel Management
Monday, October 3
48th
Oklahoma’s rank nationally on a state scorecard of the quality and capacity of long-term services and supports for older adults and people with disabilities, 2011
Source: AARP
Friday, September 30
694,992
Number of Oklahomans without health insurance coverage in 2010.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Thursday, September 29
69.8 gallons
Amount of soft drinks purchased per capita in Oklahoma in 2010, 8th most in nation.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services via 24/7 Wall St.
Wednesday, September 28
8th
Oklahoma’s rank nationally in number of acres of land in the state that’s used in farming; 35,200,000 acres in 2010.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Tuesday, September 27
34 percent
Percentage of ACT-tested high school graduates in Oklahoma who were prepared for college-level course work in math in 2010, compared to 43 percent nationally.
Source: Alliance for Excellent Education
Monday, September 26
614,000
The number of SNAP (food stamp) recipients in Oklahoma in July 2011, the highest average monthly participation in the history of the state.
Source: Department of Human Services via Oklahoma Policy Institute
Friday, September 23
42,000
Number of children in Oklahoma who are eligible for Medicaid (SoonerCare), but are not enrolled, 2011
Source: WhyHunger.com
Thursday, September 22
4,614
Number of alcohol-related traffic crashes in Oklahoma in 2010; 6.6% of all traffic crashes in the state (69,805) were alcohol‐related.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Public Safety
Wednesday, September 21
15.1 percent
Percentage of Americans living in poverty in 2010; a family of four is living in poverty if their annual income is less than $22,113.
Source:U.S. Census Bureau
Tuesday, September 20
$1,430
Amount in payroll tax relief an Oklahoma household with $46,000 in annual income would receive under the proposed American Jobs Act.
Source: Small Business Majority
Monday, September 19
85 percent
Percentage of recent bachelor’s degree holders who remain and work in Oklahoma one year after graduation.
Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission via NewsOK
Friday, September 16
11,600
Miles of shoreline in Oklahoma – more than the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts of the U.S. combined.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
Thursday, September 15
25.8 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma businesses owned by women, compared to 28.8 percent nationally in 2007.
Source: U.S. Census
Wednesday, September 14
11,906
Number of Oklahoma middle and high school students who were not promoted to the next grade level, 2008-2009
Source: Oklahoma State Department of Education
Tuesday, September 13
5th
Oklahoma’s rank in average weekly wage growth in 2010; the state’s average weekly wage grew 4.5 percent between Dec. 2009 and 2010, to $797.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Monday, September 12
40 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma adults who answered “yes” to having at least one alcoholic drink in the past 30 days, 2008
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute, Should Oklahoma Raise the Alcoholic Beverage Tax?
Friday, September 9
2.83 percent
The effective state income tax rate of a joint-filing married couple with two children and $50,000 in income, 2011
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Thursday, September 8
$13,900
The average debt per consumer in Oklahoma, compared to $17,000 per consumer nationally, 2nd quarter 2011
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Wednesday, September 7
40th
Oklahoma’s rank nationally on students’ average ACT math score, 2011
Source: ACT
Tuesday, September 6
26 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma’s 9,802 same-sex couples that are raising children, 2010
Source: U.S. Census via ThinkProgress
Monday, September 5
2.5 million
Number of workers who need a job and are available to work, but are not counted in official unemployment figures because they’ve given up actively seeking employment, August 2011
Source: Economic Policy Institute
Friday, September 2
20 percent
Percentage of student loans in Oklahoma that are delinquent, compared to 12.3 percent nationally in 2011.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Thursday, September 1
102,140
Number of women in Oklahoma who receive contraception from a publicly funded family planning clinic, 2006; 76,830 of those women were aged 20 or above.
Source: Guttmacher Institute
Wednesday, August 31
57 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma students who participate in the free and reduced school lunch and breakfast program, 4th highest in the nation in 2008.
Source: WhyHunger.org
Tuesday, August 30
9,802
Number of same-sex couples co-habitating in Oklahoma, 2010
Source: U.S. Census via ThinkProgress
Monday, August 29
$118,771
Median price of a single-family home in Oklahoma in the 2nd quarter of 2010, up $8,263 from the same quarter in 2007.
Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency
Friday, August 26
$1.500 Billion
Amount spent on programs for children aged 0 to 5 years in Oklahoma, FY 2010
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Thursday, August 25
34th
Oklahoma’s rank nationally on students’ average ACT composite score, 2011
Source: ACT
Wednesday, August 24
3,592
Adults receiving a TANF cash assistance payment in Oklahoma, June 2011
Source: OKDHS
Tuesday, August 23
11,200
Number of manufacturing jobs added to the Oklahoma economy between June 2010 and 2011, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the total non-farm jobs added (28,300).
Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission via NewsOK
Monday, August 22
17 percent
Increase in foreclosure filings in Oklahoma between the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2011.
Source: RealtyTrac via Real Estate Investors Daily
Friday, August 19
400 percent
Percentage growth in the number of public school students doing schoolwork through computer-based programs in Oklahoma in the last three years
Source: Tulsa World
Thursday, August 18
$2,713
Average amount in tuition and fees for a year of community college in the United States, compared to $7,605 for a 4-year public institution, 2010
Source: American Association of Community Colleges
Wednesday, August 17
450
The total number of separate tax expenditures (tax breaks and exemptions) authorized by Oklahoma law, 2010
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Tuesday, August 16
Percentage of all law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma that have five or fewer officers, 2010
Source: Center for Rural Affairs
Monday, August 15
203,830
Number of Oklahoma employees who work for private businesses that do not offer health insurance, 2009
Source: Dept. of Health and Human Services via Oklahoma Health Care Authority
Friday, August 12
2,090,130
Registered voters in Oklahoma as of January 2011.
Source: Oklahoma State Election Board
Thursday, August 11
$18.83
Average hourly wage in Oklahoma City in May 2010, 12 percent below the national average wage of $21.35.
Source: Oklahoman
Wednesday, August 10
28.6
Percent of those arrested for burglary in Oklahoma in 2009 who were under the age of 18.
Source: OSBI Uniform Crime Report, 2009
Tuesday, August 9
77 million
The number of children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in October 2009 – from nursery school to college.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Monday, August 8
89.1 degrees
The average temperature in July in Oklahoma, breaking the previous record for the hottest month – 88.1 degrees, July 1954.
Source: The Oklahoman
Friday August 5, 2011
30 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma 3rd graders with unsatisfactory reading scores in 2009. During the 2011/2012 school year, 3rd graders not satisfactory or above will not advance to 4th grade.
Source: Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness
Thursday August 4, 2011
6th
Oklahoma’s rank nationally for wind power generation, 2010
Source: Department of Energy
Wednesday August 3, 2011
13, 524
Net gain in jobs created to date by the Oklahoma Main Street Center, a program that invests in preservation-based commercial-district revitalization.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Commerce
Tuesday August 2, 2011
13.1 percent
The unemployment rate for black workers in Oklahoma in 2010, compared to an overall unemployment rate in the state of 7.2 percent.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Monday August 1, 2011
$2,667,539,569
Annual federal funding the state receives for Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, SoonerCare, FY 2010
Source: Oklahoma Health Care Authority
Friday July 29, 2011
$2,197,065
Amount paid in restitution by criminal offenders that was distributed to crime victims in Oklahoma in FY 2010
Source: Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Thursday July 28, 2011
2nd
Oklahoma’s rank nationally in job growth during the last 6 months (December 2010-June 2011). The number of jobs in the state grew 2.1 percent
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Wednesday July 27, 2011
608,497
Number of people on food stamps in Oklahoma in April 2011, up 4.5 percent, or 26,446 people, from the same month last year
Source: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Tuesday July 26, 2011
21.8 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma’s school-age children living in poverty in 2009, 8th highest in the nation
Source: Department of Education
Monday July 25, 2011
120°F
Temperature in Tipton Oklahoma on June 27, 1994, the state’s highest recorded temperature to date
Source: National Climatic Data Center via WeatherExplained.com
Friday July 22, 2011
$1.5 billion
Amount allocated by the health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, for programs that address shortages of primary care providers.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute via CapitolBeatOK
Thursday July 21, 2011
12th
Oklahoma’s rank nationally for watermelon production in 2010; Watermelon is also the state’s official vegetable.
Source: United States Department of Agriculture
Wednesday July 20, 2011
78 percent
Percentage of persons killed in motorcycle crashes each year in Oklahoma who are not wearing a helmet.
Source: Oklahoma State Department of Health
Tuesday July 19, 2011
$108 million
Amount the legislature cut appropriations to the Department of Education for this fiscal year compared to FY ’11.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Monday July 18, 2011
29 percent
Percentage of the United States that is currently experiencing drought; 12 percent of the country is in exceptional drought, the largest extent on record.
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor via CBS News
Friday July 15, 2011
54 percent
Percentage of Oklahomans who do not think crime is a problem in their community, 2010
Source: Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations
Thursday July 14, 2011
80,000
Oklahoma’s jobs deficit – or the difference between the number of jobs Oklahoma has and the number it needs to get back to pre-recession levels.
Source: Economic Policy Institute via Oklahoma Policy Institute
Wednesday July 13, 2011
1,203
Number of concealed carry license applications denied by the State of Oklahoma in 2010. 247 were denied because of a pending criminal case or a previous criminal conviction.
Source: Self‐Defense Act Licensing Unit
Tuesday July 12, 2011
7 to 15
Percentage points by which students of Nationally Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) outscored students of non-NBCTs on year-end tests, 2004
Source: The Urban Institute via the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Monday July 11, 2011
6
Number of federal district courts that have upheld the Affordable Care Act as constitutional; 2 have ruled all or part of the health care reform law unconstitutional.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
Friday July 8, 2011
464,457
Number of children enrolled in SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid health insurance program, as of May 2011.
Source: Oklahoma Health Care Authority
Thursday July 7, 2011
20.7
The average composite score on the ACT for Oklahoma high schools, 08/09; the comparable national average was 21.1.
Source: Education Oversight Board
Wednesday July 6, 2011
$2,907,051
Amount Oklahomans on Medicare have saved on prescription drugs since the Affordable Care Act implemented new discounts at the start of the year; $398.66 savings per beneficiary on average.
Source: HealthCare.gov
Tuesday July 5, 2011
4,543
Foster care homes in Oklahoma, March 2011.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS)
Monday July 4, 2011
$231.8 million
The value of U.S. manufacturers’ shipments of fireworks and pyrotechnics, 2007
Source: U.S. Census
Friday July 1, 2011
10
Number of death row inmates exonerated since 1970 in Oklahoma; 96 people have been executed.
Source: Death Penalty Information Center
Thursday June 30, 2011
91,900
Number of unemployed persons in Oklahoma in May 2011; 124,500 people were unemployed during the same month last year.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Wednesday June 29, 2011
23.1
The average age of mothers at first birth in Oklahoma, 2006; up 2.4 years since 1970’s average of 20.7.
Source: Centers For Disease Control and Prevention
Tuesday June 28, 2011
9¢
Cents out of every dollar earned that Oklahomans pay in state and local taxes.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute, 10 Things you Should Know About Budget and Taxes
Monday June 27, 2011
$12 million
Amount cut from the state education budget in bonuses and scholarships to teachers who obtain National Board Certification.
Source: NewsOK
Friday June 24, 2011
78,000
Number of millionaires living in Oklahoma in 2010
Source: Deloitte
Thursday June 23, 2011
$2,983,362
Amount paid by 8 pharmaceutical companies to Oklahoma providers between 2009-2011.
Source: ProPublica, Journalism in the Public Interest
Wednesday June 22, 2011
2nd
Oklahoma’s rank in a national survey of states with the highest concentration of Wal-Mart stores, with 103 locations in 2011
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
Tuesday June 21, 2011
6
Number of abortion providers – clinics, hospitals, private physicians – in the state of Oklahoma, 2008
Source: Guttmacher Institute
Monday June 20, 2011
16 percent
Percentage of the civilian population of Oklahoma without health insurance in 2009; Oklahoma ranks 34th highest nationally on percentage of the population that is uninsured
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
Friday June 17, 2011
5.6 percent
Oklahoma’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April 2011; 6th lowest in the country.
Thursday June 16, 2011
179,684
Number of Oklahoma residents who were born in another country, 2009; compared to 131,747 foreign-born residents in 2000.
Source: American Community Survey
Wednesday June 15, 2011
60 percent
Percent of the state’s surface water that is used for public water supply; the rest is used mainly for thermoelectric power generation and irrigation
Source: Oklahoma Water Resources Board via OKWaterLaw.com
Tuesday June 14, 2011
16
Number of states since 1996 to exempt qualified medical marijuana patients and providers from criminal penalties; Oklahoma is not one of them
Source: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
Monday June 13, 2011
1,196
Adult Protective Services investigations completed by OKDHS, February 2011
Source: OKDHS Monthly Statistical Bulletin
Friday June 10, 2011
$2,503
Average monthly cost per person for stay in an assisted living facility in Oklahoma, 2009
Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute
Thursday June 9, 2011
51.3 percent
Percentage of married-couple families in Oklahoma where both spouses work
Source: American Community Survey, 2009
Wednesday June 8, 2011
78,787
Total rounds of golf played in 2010 at state-owned golf courses in Oklahoma
Source: FY ‘12 Executive Budget
Tuesday June 7, 2011
5
Number of state agencies receiving more appropriations in FY ‘12 than in FY ’09; the other 74 agencies will receive less
Source: OK Policy, FY 2012 Budget Highlights
Monday June 6, 2011
57.6
Average age of an Oklahoma farm operator, 2007
Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture
Friday June 3, 2011
$2,938,388,810
Total retail sales for prescription drugs filled at Oklahoma pharmacies in 2009.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
Thursday June 2, 2011
6,323
Number of Oklahoma offenders in the custody of contract correctional facilities as of May 23rd, 2011.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Wednesday June 1, 2011
$2,113
Amount spent on gasoline by the average Oklahoma driver in 2010
Source: National Resource Defense Council
Tuesday May 31, 2011
0
Number of times the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down state redistricting on the basis of partisan gerrymandering; In 1986, the Court ruled that gerrymandering is justiciable – meaning an issue that is within its judicial authority to rule.
Source: Legislative Guide to Redistricting 2011, Oklahoma House of Representatives
Monday May 30, 2011
324,700
Number of war veterans in Oklahoma, 2010.
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs
May 26, 2011 Thursday
240,855
Number of Oklahomans who are registered to vote as Independent as of January 2011; 11.5 percent of registered voters in the state.
Source: Oklahoma State Election Board
May 25, 2011 Wednesday
65.8 percent
Of Oklahoma’s nursing home residents rely on Medicaid to pay for their nursing home care.
Source: Families USA
May 24, 2011 Tuesday
4,313
Properties in foreclosure in Oklahoma in the first quarter of 2011.
Source: RealtyTrac
May 23, 2011 Monday
$167 million
Amount cut from higher and common education budgets in the state’s FY’ 12 budget.
Source: Tulsa World
May 20, 2011 Friday
15 percent
Percentage of electric generation capacity within the state to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2015, as per The Oklahoma Energy Security Act.
Source: Renewable Energy World
May 19, 2011 Thursday
99
U.S. service member casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan from Oklahoma.
Source: The Washington Post
May 18, 2011 Wednesday
41st
Oklahoma’s rank out of 50 states for percentage of citizens with at least a Bachelor’s degree, 2007.
Source: US Census Bureau
May 17, 2011 Tuesday
$622 million
Drop in overall appropriations in the FY ’12 budget compared to three years ago, in FY ’09.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
May 16, 2011 Monday
6.8 percent
Growth in Oklahoma manufacturing employment between March 2010 and 2011.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
May 12, 2011 Friday
11 percent
Percentage of their income Oklahomans spent on gasoline on average in April 2011; the national average is 8.9 percent.
Source: Oil Price Information Service via CNN
May 11, 2011 Thursday
14.3
Average days out of 30 that Oklahoma residents reported not getting enough sleep in 2008. Oklahoma ranked 4th highest among other states in sleep-deprived residents.
Source: Centers for Disease Control via WebMD
May 10, 2011 Wednesday
11.4 percent
Increase in foreclosure filings in Oklahoma between the fourth quarter of 2010 and the 1st quarter of 2011.
Source: RealtyTrac
May 10, 2011 Tuesday
53.5 percent
Oklahoma’s voter turnout in the 2008 presidential election; 41st in the nation.
Source: U.S. Census, State and Metropolitan Area Data Book
May 9, 2011 Monday
8
Permanent standing conference committees in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, as of a 2011 rule change.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute, 2011 Oklahoma Legislative Overview
May 6, 2011 Friday
$30 million
The cost of transitioning from a paper-based to an electronic case management system for the state’s courts.
Source: The Tulsa World
May 5, 2011 Thursday
133,002
Average monthly participation in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program in Oklahoma, 2010
Source: USDA
May 4, 2011 Wednesday
1.51
Average number of payday loan transactions per Oklahoma borrower during the month of June 2010.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit
May 3, 2011 Tuesday
250
Registered sex offenders that would be without a place to live if the legislature passes SB 852 and closes a mobile home park run by Hand Up Ministries, a Christian prison mission.
Source: The Oklahoman
May 2, 2011, Monday
22.2 percent
Food hardship rate in Oklahoma in 2010, compared to 18 percent nationally; Percentage of people answering yes to the question, “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”
Source: Food Research and Action Center
April 29, 2011, Friday
13,485,000
Visits to state parks in Oklahoma in 2007.
Source: U.S. Census, State and Metropolitan Area Data Book
April 28, 2011 Thursday
$2,499
Median credit card debt in Oklahoma, 2008; the national median credit card debt is $2,960.
Source: 2009-2010 Assets and Opportunities Scorecard, CFED
April 27, 2011 Wednesday
13,200
Non-farm jobs added to the Oklahoma economy between February and March 2011.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
April 26, 2011 Tuesday
36.2 percent
Oklahoma families that are ‘low-income working families’ (income below 200% of the federal poverty line in 2007); 28 percent are ‘low-income working families’ nationally.
Source: The Working Poor Families Project
April 25, 2011 Monday
130
Years a prospective Mexican immigrant would have to wait to gain legal admission to the U.S. after applying for an unskilled worker visa.
Source: The American Prospect
April 22, 2011 Friday
6.5 percent
Oklahoma’s unemployment rate, February 2011.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute, Numbers You Need April 2011
April 21, 2011 Thursday
103
Drug-free infants born to drug-court participants in Oklahoma, FY07-FY09.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services ODMHSAS
April 20, 2011 Wednesday
$7,411,299,000
Annual payroll and receipts of Oklahoma firms with less than 20 employees, 2007.
Source: United States Small Business Administration
April 19, 2011 Tuesday
9
Number of states where 30 percent or more of the population is obese, 2009; Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
April 18, 2011 Monday
$118 million
Potential revenue generated by eliminating the itemized deduction for state tax payments on Oklahoma returns.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute, Protecting Core Services: Revenue Options for a Balanced Budget
April 15, 2011 Friday
74
Tornadoes in Oklahoma in 2010; 6th most in the country.
Source: National Weather Service
April 14, 2011 Thursday
$7.25
Hourly minimum wage in Oklahoma; state statute adopts the Federal minimum wage rate by reference.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
April 12, 2011 Tuesday
70 percent
Increase in Oklahoma foreclosure filings between the last quarters of 2008 and 2010.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute, Numbers You Need March 2011
April 11, 2011 Monday
13.9
Students per teacher in Oklahoma public education classrooms, 2008-2009; the national average is 15.3.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
April 8, 2011 Friday
1-800-522-7233
Oklahoma’s Safeline, a toll-free 24-hour hotline for domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Source: Oklahoma Attorney General
April 7, 2011 Thursday
47th
Oklahoma’s ‘Nest Egg’ index rank out of 50 states, ranking citizens ability to build and nurture financial saving and retirement assets.
Source: A.G. Edwards
April 6, 2011 Wednesday
86,500
Oklahoma farms in operation in 2010.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
April 5, 2011 Tuesday
12.1 percent
Percentage of the adult population of Oklahoma who are veterans, 2009.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
April 4, 2011 Monday
$228.3 million
Amount claimed by Oklahomans for the first-time homebuyers credit in FFY 2010. The credit was claimed by 33,239 homebuyers
Source: IRS
April 1, 2011 Friday
1,080,354
Acres of Oklahoma land owned by the Federal Government, 2009.
Source: U.S. General Services Administration
March 31, 2011 Thursday
$1.03
Cigarette excise tax per pack in Oklahoma, 2011.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute, Online Budget Guide
March 30, 2011 Wednesday
8.3 percent
Percent of Oklahoma’s electricity generated through renewable sources in 2008.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
March 29, 2011 Tuesday
$14,000
Annual savings to the state per offender of drug courts compared to incarceration.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS)
March 28, 2011 Monday
$93.13
Average monthly residential electric bill in Oklahoma, 2009.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
March 25, 2011 Friday
19 percent
Increase in the number of minority-owned businesses in Oklahoma between 1997 and 2002; compared to a 4 percent increase in all businesses.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
March 24, 2011 Thursday
33,669
Oklahoma births subsidized by SoonerCare in 2009; 63.9 percent of all births in the state.
Source: OHCA
March 23, 2011 Wednesday
698
Full-time female law enforcement officers in Oklahoma in 2009.
Source: FBI Crime in the U.S. (CIUS) Report
March 22, 2011 Tuesday
272
Total number of undocumented students enrolled in Oklahoma public higher education institutions, 2008/2009 school-year.
Source: Advancement of Hispanic Students in Higher Education Task Force
March 21, 2011 Monday
1
Out of every 4 Oklahomans suffers from a mental illness or addiction disorder.
Source: ODMHSAS
March 18, 2011 Friday
$1.14 billion
Gross receipts generated by Hispanic-owned businesses in Oklahoma in 2002.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
March 17, 2011 Thursday
11 percent
Percentage of Oklahomans who carpooled to work in 2002.
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
March 16, 2011 Wednesday
14
Hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation reported in Oklahoma in 2009.
Source: FBI Hate Crime Statistics
March 15, 2011 Tuesday
$75.3 million
Grants awarded to date to Oklahoma by the Department of Health and Human Services through the Affordable Care Act.
Source: Healthcare.gov
March 14, 2011 Monday
$535
Amount paid per person in property taxes by Oklahomans in 2007; the national average is $1,270.
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute
March 11, 2011 Friday
53 percent
Percentage of all domestic violence homicides that were committed using a firearm in Oklahoma between 1998-2008.
Source: Oklahoma Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board
March 10, 2011 Thursday
120,167
Borrowers with outstanding loans to a payday lending service in Oklahoma in June 2010.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit
March 9, 2011 Wednesday
$27,460
Average annual salary for a private sector mental health and substance abuse worker in Oklahoma in 2009.
Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC)
March 8, 2011 Tuesday
1,657
Manufacturing jobs added to the Oklahoma economy in 2010.
Source: Economic Policy Institute
March 7, 2011 Monday
6
Prisons run by for-profit corporations in Oklahoma.
Source: Oklahoma Department of Corrections
March 4, 2011 Friday
35.7 percent
Percentage of all purchases in Oklahoma in 2003 subject to the sales tax.
Source: OK Policy, Fixing the Sales Tax
March 3, 2011 Friday
$298.3 million
Child support payments collected and distributed in Oklahoma by OKDHS in FY ’10.
Source: OK Policy, Numbers You Need
March 2, 2011 Wednesday
$161,610
Average annual salary for a general practice family doctor in Oklahoma in 2009.
Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC)
March 1, 2011 Tuesday
58 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma children under age 5 with a single working parent or two working parents that require daycare.
Source: Oklahoma Child Care Annual Report, 2009
Feb 28, 2011 Monday
149
Exemptions to the sales tax in Oklahoma statutes.
Source: OK Policy, Fixing the Sales Tax
Feb 25, 2011 Friday
27, 155
Growth in population describing themselves as Hispanic or Latino in Tulsa between 2000 and 2010; Tulsa’s total population dropped by 1,143 during the same period.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Feb 24, 2011 Thursday
$676
Annual per capita spending on fast food in Oklahoma in 2007.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau via 24/7 Wall St.
Feb 23, 2011 Wednesday
15,225
Number of bankruptcy filings in Oklahoma in the last 12 months (through September 2010).
Source: Oklahoma Policy Institute, Numbers You Need
Feb 22, 2011 Tuesday
$17,593
Oklahoma’s mean entry wage, 2009
Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
Feb 21, 2011 Monday
7.1 percent
Percentage of people in Oklahoma who described themselves as Hispanic or Latino in 2010.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Feb 18, 2011 Friday
$35,100
Maximum income that a family of 3 can earn, to be eligible for subsidized child care in Oklahoma. This is equivalent to 76% of the state’s median income.
Source: Child Welfare League of America: Oklahoma’s Children, 2010
Feb 17, 2011 Thursday
16 percent
Estimated national unemployment rate if the Federal government had not passed the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Source: Economic Policy Institute: Economic Snapshots
Feb 16, 2011 Wednesday
70, 153
Number of non-institutionalized Oklahomans aged 5-20 with a disability in 2009.
Source: US Census Bureau
Feb 15, 2011 Tuesday
39, 279
Number of Oklahoma grandparents who are primary caregivers to at least one grandchild under 18.
US Census Bureau: Selected Social Characteristics, 2000
Feb 14, 2011 Monday
24.9
Percentage of Oklahomans who were under 18 years of age, 2009
Source: US Census Bureau
Feb 11, 2011 Friday
19
Female legislators in the Oklahoma Legislature, out of 149 total.
Source: Oklahoma Women’s Network
Feb 10, 2011 Thursday
8.2 million
Number of jobs lost in the U.S. since the start of the recession in December 2007. This is a loss of 5.9 percent of the job base, or about 1 out of 20 jobs.
Source: Economic Policy Institute, Corporate Profits
Feb 9, 2011 Wednesday
$38, 400
Base legislative salary for a member of the Oklahoma Legislature.
Source: OK Policy Institute, 2011 Oklahoma Legislative Overview
Feb 8, 2011 Tuesday
53 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma emergency room visits for non-emergent problems in 2005.
Source: Oklahoma County Medical Society
Feb 7, 2011 Monday
2,137
Bills introduced in both houses of the 2011 Oklahoma State Legislature.
Source: OK Policy Institute, 2011 Oklahoma Legislative Overview
Feb 4, 2011 Friday
214 percent
Growth in pre-tax income of the richest 1 percent of Americans from 1979 to 2007
Source: Economic Policy Institute
Feb 3, 2011 Thursday
$22,050
Poverty threshold for a family of 4 in 2009.
Source: Economic Policy Institute
Feb 2, 2011 Wednesday
11,500
Average annual number of people treated in the ER for snow-shoveling injuries.
Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
Feb 1, 2011 Tuesday
130
Tons of sand or sand-salt mixtures the Oklahoma Department of Transportation has in stock in preparation for today’s storm.
Source: ODOT (via NewsOn6.com)
January 31, 2011 Monday
11,393
Number of children in foster care in Oklahoma. 3,993 of these children are waiting for adoptive families.
Source: AdoptUsKids.org
January 28, 2011 Friday
21.7
Mean minutes of travel time to work for Oklahoma workers age 16+, 2000.
Source: US Census Bureau
January 27, 2011 Thursday
77
Fatal work-related injuries in Oklahoma in 2009, a decrease of 25 from 2008. National total: 5214, down 974 from the previous year.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
January 26, 2011
102
Number of tuberculosis cases in Oklahoma, 2009. There were 208 cases in 1999.
Source: OK Dept. of Health
January 25, 2011
$36,411
Oklahoma’s mean wage, 2009
Source: Oklahoma Employment Security Commission
January 24, 2011
391 percent
Maximum APR of a two-week $100 payday loan in Oklahoma
Source: Tulsa World
January 21, 2011
1,039
Number of babies born during an average week in Oklahoma. Of these, 144 are born pre-term and 87 are born low birthrate.
Source: OK State Dept. of Health
January 20, 2011
3.2 million
Oklahomans whose homes utilize public water supplies. (Total state population = 3.7 million.) Roughly 1/2 million people utilize private wells or other non-municipal water sources.
Source: OK Dept. of Environmental Quality
January 19, 2011
$156.3 million
Amount of sales taxes lost to online and catalog retailers who do not collect tax from Oklahoma customers (FY’12 estimate).
Source: OK Policy’s Bridging the Gap
January 18, 2011
9.9 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma first graders whose medical insurance does not cover routine well-child visits.
Source: 2007-2008 First Grade Health Survey
January 14, 2011
46,500
Number of Oklahoma workers who gained workers’ compensation insurance as a result of the OK Legislature making coverage mandatory in 1986.
Source: OK Dept. of Labor
January 13, 2011
25
Number of consecutive months of increasing enrollment in SoonerCare, Oklahoma’s Medicaid program. The program now has 726,960 participants
Source: OK Policy, Numbers You Need
January 12, 2011
75,025
Female-owned small businesses in Oklaohma in 2002, representing 25.7 percent of the state’s total businesses (2002)
Source: US Small Business Association Office of Advocacy
January 11, 2011
567
Number of Oklahoma children younger than 6 years of age tested for lead poisoning and found to have elevated blood lead levels, 2004-2006.
Source: OK State Department of Health, Housing Hazards
January 10, 2011
1
Number of female Governors of Oklahoma, as of today. Mary Fallin is the state’s 27th Governor.
Source: Wikipedia
January 7, 2011
57,601
Oklahoma children living in grandparent-headed households (6.5% of all children in the state) (2008).
Source: AARP
January 6, 2011
73 percent
Portion of state taxpayers with incomes under $50,000.
Source: OK Policy’s Bridging the Gap
January 5, 2011
11 percent
Percentage of Oklahoma public school teens who report that they drove a car or other vehicle one or more times during the 30 days before the survey when they had been drinking alcohol.
Source: 2009 Oklahoma Youth Risk Behavior Survey
January 4, 2011
9th
Oklahoma’s rank nationwide in the number of National Board Certified Teachers (2,599 total).
Oklahoma State Dept. of Education, “The Progress of Education Reform 2010“
January 3, 2011
18,090
Number of people incarcerated by the OK Department of Corrections, week of December 27, 2010 (98.03 percent of capacity).
Source: ODOC Offender Count
