Cleveland County, Oklahoma | |
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.jpg) Cleveland County Courthouse | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofOklahoma | |
 Oklahoma's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:35°12′N97°20′W / 35.2°N 97.33°W /35.2; -97.33 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Oklahoma |
| Founded | 1890 |
| Named after | Grover Cleveland |
| Seat | Norman |
| Largest city | Norman |
| Area | |
• Total | 558 sq mi (1,450 km2) |
| • Land | 539 sq mi (1,400 km2) |
| • Water | 19 sq mi (49 km2) 3.5% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 295,528 |
• Estimate (2024) | 303,952 |
| • Density | 548/sq mi (212/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | www |
Cleveland County is acounty in thecentral part of theU.S. state ofOklahoma. The population was 295,528 at the2020 United States census,[1] making it the third-most populous county in Oklahoma. Itscounty seat isNorman.[2] The county was named for U.S. PresidentGrover Cleveland.[3] Cleveland County is part of theOklahoma Citymetropolitan statistical area.
Originally occupied by theQuapaw tribe, the Quapaw ceded the area to the U.S. Government soon after theLouisiana Purchase in 1818. During the late 1820s and 1830s, the area was given to theCreek andSeminole tribes after theirforced removal from the southeastern United States. An agreement between the two tribes resulted in this area being part of the Seminole Nation, located west of the Creek Nation.
In 1866, these tribes were forced to cede the area to the Federal Government; the professed rationale was their siding with the Confederacy during theAmerican Civil War.[4] The area became part of theUnassigned Lands and was opened for white settlement on April 22, 1889.
After the passage of the Organic Act in 1890, Cleveland County was organized as County 3 (of 7)[5] andNorman became the county seat. For a short time, Cleveland County was known as Little River County, until an election in 1890. The voters selected the name Cleveland in honor of PresidentGrover Cleveland over the name Lincoln.[3]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 558 square miles (1,450 km2), of which 539 square miles (1,400 km2) is land and 19 square miles (49 km2) (3.5%) is water.[6] It is the eighth smallest county in the state.[7]
Cleveland County contains the reservoirLake Thunderbird 5,349 acres (21.65 km2), constructed between 1962 and 1965. Its waters covered the previous settlement of Denver.[8][9]
Cleveland County is the origin of theLittle River, a tributary of the Canadian River, 90 miles (140 km) long. TheCanadian River defines the southern border of Cleveland County.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 6,605 | — | |
| 1900 | 16,388 | 148.1% | |
| 1910 | 18,843 | 15.0% | |
| 1920 | 19,389 | 2.9% | |
| 1930 | 24,948 | 28.7% | |
| 1940 | 27,728 | 11.1% | |
| 1950 | 41,443 | 49.5% | |
| 1960 | 47,600 | 14.9% | |
| 1970 | 81,839 | 71.9% | |
| 1980 | 133,173 | 62.7% | |
| 1990 | 174,253 | 30.8% | |
| 2000 | 208,016 | 19.4% | |
| 2010 | 255,755 | 22.9% | |
| 2020 | 295,528 | 15.6% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 303,952 | [10] | 2.9% |
| US Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010-2019[1] | |||
As of the2020 United States census, the county had a population of 295,528. Of the residents, 22.6% were under the age of 18 and 14.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 34.8 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.3 males.[15][16]
The racial makeup of the county was 68.9% White, 5.1%Black or African American, 4.5%American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.3%Asian, 4.0% from some other race, and 13.1% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.3% of the population.[16]
There were 112,649 households in the county, of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[15]
There were 121,539 housing units, of which 7.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 62.7% were owner-occupied and 37.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.5%.[15]
As of the2010 United States census,[17] there were 255,755 people, 98,306 households, and 64,182 families in the county. The population density was 458 inhabitants per square mile (177/km2). There were 104,821 housing units at an average density of 188 units per square mile (73 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 79.3%white, 4.2%black orAfrican American, 4.7%Native American, 3.8%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 2.3% fromother races, and 5.6% from two or more races. 7.0% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
As of 2010, were 98,306 households, of which almost half (49.9%) includedmarried couples living together and more than a third (34.7%) were non-families. Almost a third (32.9%) included children under the age of 18, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present. More than a fourth (25.9%) of households consisted of a sole individual and 6.9% were individuals 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.02.
As of 2010, the county population contained 23.1% under the age of 18, 14.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.
As of 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $53,759, and the median income for a family was $67,412. Males had a median income of $45,580 versus $34,801 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $26,640. About 7.2% of families and 12.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
According to the Census Bureau, the county's population was estimated at 299,587 in 2022.[18] The same 2021 census estimates placed the racial makeup at 69.5%non-Hispanic white, 5.7% African American, 5.6% Native American, 4.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.3% multiracial, and 9.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race, and reported a median household income of $67,068 with a poverty rate of 12.3%.[18]
Cleveland County is rather conservative for a county influenced by a college town. While most such counties swung heavily to the Democrats in the 1990s, Cleveland County has gone Republican in all but one presidential election since 1952, and last went Democratic for president in 1964. However, the county leans much less Republican than the state as a whole; in 2020,Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win more than 40% of the county's vote sinceJimmy Carter in 1976, only losing the county by 14 percentage points, compared to a 33-point loss statewide.
The county backed Democratic candidateJoy Hofmeister with nearly 52% of the vote in the2022 gubernatorial election.[19]
| Voter registration and party enrollment as of May 31, 2023[20] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Number of voters | Percentage | |||
| Republican | 84,250 | 47.18% | |||
| Democratic | 52,617 | 29.46% | |||
| Unaffiliated | 39,670 | 22.21% | |||
| Libertarian | 2,047 | 1.15% | |||
| Total | 178,584 | 100% | |||
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1908 | 1,092 | 36.33% | 1,437 | 47.80% | 477 | 15.87% |
| 1912 | 938 | 32.74% | 1,471 | 51.34% | 456 | 15.92% |
| 1916 | 885 | 27.36% | 1,753 | 54.19% | 597 | 18.45% |
| 1920 | 2,283 | 45.80% | 2,397 | 48.08% | 305 | 6.12% |
| 1924 | 1,672 | 33.39% | 2,841 | 56.73% | 495 | 9.88% |
| 1928 | 3,738 | 61.35% | 2,291 | 37.60% | 64 | 1.05% |
| 1932 | 1,868 | 23.84% | 5,969 | 76.16% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 2,643 | 29.30% | 6,304 | 69.87% | 75 | 0.83% |
| 1940 | 3,660 | 37.93% | 5,933 | 61.48% | 57 | 0.59% |
| 1944 | 3,642 | 40.91% | 5,240 | 58.86% | 21 | 0.24% |
| 1948 | 3,671 | 35.90% | 6,556 | 64.10% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 8,149 | 56.83% | 6,190 | 43.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 7,766 | 56.47% | 5,987 | 43.53% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 9,292 | 59.23% | 6,397 | 40.77% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 9,656 | 45.43% | 11,599 | 54.57% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 12,446 | 48.29% | 8,617 | 33.43% | 4,711 | 18.28% |
| 1972 | 25,777 | 68.71% | 11,126 | 29.66% | 615 | 1.64% |
| 1976 | 22,098 | 51.06% | 20,054 | 46.33% | 1,129 | 2.61% |
| 1980 | 31,178 | 61.86% | 14,536 | 28.84% | 4,687 | 9.30% |
| 1984 | 42,806 | 71.70% | 16,512 | 27.66% | 387 | 0.65% |
| 1988 | 36,313 | 61.62% | 22,067 | 37.44% | 553 | 0.94% |
| 1992 | 35,561 | 44.10% | 24,404 | 30.27% | 20,664 | 25.63% |
| 1996 | 36,457 | 52.24% | 26,038 | 37.31% | 7,288 | 10.44% |
| 2000 | 47,393 | 62.22% | 27,792 | 36.49% | 986 | 1.29% |
| 2004 | 65,720 | 65.90% | 34,007 | 34.10% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2008 | 64,749 | 62.00% | 39,681 | 38.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2012 | 59,116 | 62.97% | 34,771 | 37.03% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2016 | 62,538 | 57.14% | 38,829 | 35.48% | 8,083 | 7.39% |
| 2020 | 66,677 | 55.67% | 49,827 | 41.60% | 3,274 | 2.73% |
| 2024 | 67,225 | 56.35% | 49,432 | 41.44% | 2,637 | 2.21% |
TheUniversity of Oklahoma is located in Norman. It is the largest university in Oklahoma with approximately 30,000 students.
School districts include:[22]
Pioneer Library System operates branch libraries in ten cities in Cleveland,McClain andPottawatomie counties.[23]
TheUniversity of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport is owned by the University of Oklahoma. It is located 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) northwest of Norman.
The US 77James C. Nance Memorial Bridge linking Lexington and Purcell was originally built as a circa 1938deck truss two-lane bridge and in 2019 rebuilt as a concrete pier four-lane bridge[24] crossing theCanadian River betweenPurcell andLexington, Oklahoma. The bridge carriesU.S. Route 77 (US-77) andOklahoma State Highway 39 (SH-39) fromMcClain County to Cleveland County. The bridge is named forJames C. Nance, longtime community newspaper chain publisher and Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, President Pro Tem of Oklahoma State Senate and Uniform Law Commissioner.
The Nance bridge allows travel time from Purcell (west side of the Canadian River) to Lexington (east side of the river) to be only three minutes by car, according to google maps. When the bridge was closed for emergency repairs, the same trip was 43 minutes when rerouted north to the nearest bridge, or one hour, four minutes when rerouted southeast to the nearest bridge.
The 1938 construction of this bridge enabled communities from West and Southwest (Byars, Cole, Dibble, Paoli, Pauls Valley, Purcell, Rosedale, and Wayne) side of the river to reach the communities on the East side of the river (Lexington, Slaughterville, and Wanette). Traffic using the bridge allows trade and commerce to freely flow in this retail trade area of southern McClain County, southern Cleveland County, Southern Pottawatomie County, and northern areas of Garvin County, and the eastern portion of Grady County. The bridge, rebuilt in 2019, features the same design elements with concrete post and wrought iron railings with protected turn lane and sidewalks.[24]
According to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, "History was made Friday July 26, 2019 in Purcell and Lexington, just as it was more than 80 years ago when the two cities celebrated the grand opening of a new bridge connecting their communities. The new US 77 Purcell/Lexington James C. Nance Bridge that links the twin cities, located less than one mile apart, fully opened to traffic with much fanfare on Friday, July 26, 2019, the culmination of a major two-year, expedited reconstruction project."[24]
The following sites in Cleveland County are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places:
Places adjacent to Cleveland County, Oklahoma | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofCleveland County, Oklahoma,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
35°12′N97°20′W / 35.20°N 97.33°W /35.20; -97.33
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