Ottawa County, Oklahoma Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Ottawa County, OK Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
-
C
Health Below averageLess healthy than 83% of counties in Oklahoma
-
D
Income Well below averageLess wealthy than 80% of counties in Oklahoma
-
F
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Ottawa County | Oklahoma Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 30,341 | 4,028,385 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 62.6 | 57.6 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | -0.67% | 0.48% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 38.5 | 38.2 | 37.3 |
| Households | 11,921 | 1,561,116 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Ottawa County declined by 5.6% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 30,341 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Ottawa County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 21.8% of residents. That is 0.7 points below Oklahoma as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 6,630 21.8% -0.7 pts
- Millennials 29–44 5,570 18.4% -3.1 pts
- Gen X 45–60 5,667 18.7% +0.2 pts
- Boomers 61–79 5,828 19.2% +2.4 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Oklahoma, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 50.8% of the people living in Ottawa County and men 49.2%.
- Women 50.8% Oklahoma 50.3%
- Men 49.2% Oklahoma 49.7%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Ottawa County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Ottawa County has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Ottawa County | Oklahoma Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $49,940 | $65,606 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.74% | 3.94% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 3.0% | 4.9% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Ottawa County is about 24% lower than in Oklahoma.
Housing
| Metric | Ottawa County | Oklahoma Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $95,116 | $133,462 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $787 | $1,014 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 67.5% | 65.8% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Ottawa County is about 10.1 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $787 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Ottawa County spend about 34 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 141 hours, about 5.9 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Ottawa County | Oklahoma Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 16.9 | 19.0 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 33.9 | 37.9 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 141 | 158 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,374 | $4,901 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 4.9% | 9.4% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,590 | 5,635 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 956 | 941 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Oklahoma:
Cimarron County (4.8 min), Woods County (8.5 min), Harmon County (8.8 min).
Slowest:
Cotton County (30.4 min), Logan County (28.5 min), Lincoln County (28.0 min).
The average commute time in Ottawa County is 17 minutes, shorter than the 19 minutes in Oklahoma.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Ottawa County has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Ottawa County | Oklahoma Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 13.6% | 24.8% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.45 | 2.50 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Oklahoma:
Payne County (0.3), Cleveland County (0.3), Oklahoma County (0.3).
Lowest:
Adair County (0.2), Okfuskee County (0.2), Greer County (0.2).
Health
Ottawa County has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Ottawa County | Oklahoma Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.0 | 76.5 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 23.1% | 20.3% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 26.0% | 22.6% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Oklahoma:
Cleveland County (0.8), Canadian County (0.8), Woods County (0.8).
Lowest:
Adair County (0.7), McIntosh County (0.7), Choctaw County (0.7).
Ottawa County, OK Compared With Nearby Counties
Ottawa County, OK is the 3rd largest of the 4 counties compared here, 30,341 residents against a local median of 41,279. The measure that sets Ottawa County, OK apart most is commute: 16.9 min, 28% below the local median of 23.4 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves sit within 3.4 min of each other on commute, a tighter band than the gap between any of them and Ottawa County, OK, which makes it a genuine outlier here rather than one end of a wide local spread. Ottawa County, OK has the lowest commute of the 4 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa County, OK | 30,341 | $49,940 #4/4 | $95,116 #3/4 | 16.9 min #1/4 |
| Delaware County, OK | 41,279 | $56,237 | $159,375 | 23.4 min |
| Newton County, MO | 60,118 | $65,823 | $70,854 | 20.4 min |
| McDonald County, MO | 23,701 | $53,681 | $109,091 | 23.8 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Ottawa County, Oklahoma.
What is the population of Ottawa County, Oklahoma?
About 30,341 people live in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, in 11,921 households of 2.5 people on average. The median age is 38.5, close to the U.S. median of 37.3.
How densely populated is Ottawa County, Oklahoma?
Averaged over its land area, Ottawa County, Oklahoma has 63 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is close to the U.S. average of 86.
Is Ottawa County, Oklahoma an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 1.9 times the median household income ($95,116 against $49,940), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $787 a month takes about 19% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
Is it hard to find a job in Ottawa County, Oklahoma?
Unemployment in Ottawa County, Oklahoma is only 3.0%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.
How educated are people in Ottawa County, Oklahoma?
13.6% of adults in Ottawa County, Oklahoma hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 7), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →