Rogers County State's Fastest-Growing Area

Mar 26, 05:00 PM

Current Headlines: By LEIGH BELL World Staff Writer

Correction

An included map that ran insome editions with this story about a U.S. Censusreport on the population growth of countiesincorrectly categorized Marshall County insouthern Oklahoma. The county's growth wasbetween 8 percent and 17 percent.

CLAREMORE -- He sounded exasperated.

"Dang burn it," Bill Biard said.

People are catching on to his strong opinion that Rogers County is the best place to live in Oklahoma.

That area just northeast of Tulsa is the fastest-growing county in the state, says a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rogers County grew by 16.7 percent from April 2000 to July 2006, according to cumulative estimates of population change.

Nobody had to tell Biard that.

He sees the growth every day around dinner time at his restaurant, Hammett House, a home-cooking diner in Claremore since 1969.

It hasn't really been this busy since he and his wife bought the restaurant 17 years ago, Biard said.

"Our sales have gone crazy," he said, guessing that business has grown between 10 and 18 percent in two years.

Population has climbed in Rogers County by at least 2 percent each year for last several years. The county seat of Claremore is evidence.

"We're not a three-stoplight town anymore," Biard said.

Tulsa County can't tout the large growth of its northeast neighbor, but this year, its population exceeded 1 percent growth for the first time since 2000 and more than doubled its growth for the previous year.

The Tulsa County population increased by 2.6 percent over the past six years.

Growth communities can use Census Bureau evidence to at tract bigger-name restaurants and stores, said Jeff Wallace, the director of Oklahoma Census Data Center.

"Every year companies are looking for (population) thresholds either at the metro, city or county level, so when these numbers come out, it just helps that economic cycle continue," Wallace said.

The entire Tulsa metro area will likely top the 900,000 mark next year, he said, and the 1-million mark a few years from now. The metro area includes the counties of Tulsa, Rogers, Wagoner, Pawnee, Okmulgee, Creek and Osage.

"At the million mark, we could compete with the big boys," said Bob Ball, manager of economic research at the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. "The sooner we get a million, the better. That is a threshold."

The growth in Rogers County will be "part of the package" Claremore officials present to the restaurants and stores they want in their Route 66 town, said Mike Strotheide, chief executive officer of the Claremore Industrial Economic Development Authority.

He said Claremore's population blossomed in the last five years and companies answered the call. These last few years brought in Quizno's sandwich shop, Walgreens, Lowe's Home Improvement, Chili's and a new movie theater.

Leigh Bell 581-8465

leigh.bell@tulsaworld.com

Detailed version of the U.S. Census Bureau findings broken down by county

Census facts

Oklahoma's population increased 3.73 percent from 2000 to 2006 and 1.01 percent from 2005 to 2006.

Forty-two counties gained population between 2000 and 2006 while 35 counties lost population.

Six counties increased their populations by more than 10 percent: Rogers, Canadian, Wagoner, McClain, Grady and Marshall.

The state's most populus county is Oklahoma County with an estimated 691,300 people. The county with the smallest population is Cimarron County with 2,800 people.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

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