Data-driven research is providing proof that Chickasha is growing and its trade area is expanding.
“It’s not enough to be excited that we are growing, we have to know why we’re growing,” Director Jim Cowan told the Chickasha Economic Development Council recently.
New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey “show that as of July 1, 2024, Chickasha’s population reached 17,014 – an increase of almost 1,000 “from the 2020 base estimate of 16,059,” CEDC Research Analyst Matt Brooks reported.
A comparison of city sales tax collections in fiscal year 2018-19 versus fiscal year 2023-24 showed a $2.1 million (16%) increase during that fiveyear period. From 2019 through 2024, seven new housing additions were platted and more than 250 new home permits were issued in Chickasha, Cowan said.
Final plats for two new single-family residential developments totaling 82 lots were approved earlier this month by the City Council. In addition, 45 new businesses – primarily small companies but also national brands and others – have been established in the community.
Clicks on the “VisitChickasha. com” website are increasing, and Chickasha logged 952,000 total downtown visits last year – an increase of 31,000 unique visitors from 2019 – according to Placer location and foot traffic data software that tracks cell phones.
Visit Chickasha was named the 2024Tourism Organization of theYear, receiving the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association’s RedBud Award.
The local Chamber of Commerce is aggressively promoting tourism in Chickasha, including the iconic “leg lamp” statue downtown and the 33rd annual Festival of Light, which has been recognized as one of the top 10 holiday light shows in the nation and features more than 3.5 million Christmas lights in Shannon Springs Park.
“We have random billboards in the area,” Cowan said. “Our focus is Blanchard and the H.E. Bailey Turnpike, between Bridge Creek and Mustang, plus the Newcastle area and one in the Rush Springs area,” he said. “They help raise awareness.”
Chickasha’s trade area has expanded in the past three years, Cowan said. In 2022 the trade area was bounded by Minco, Tuttle, Dibble, Marlow, Sterling, Fletcher, Anadarko and Gracemont, encompassing an estimated population of 89,000. Now, though, he said, the trade area has expanded south to include Duncan and Central High, east to Lindsay, northwest to near Binger, and west to Fort Cobb and Carnegie – an area containing an estimated population of 120,000.
Placer technology also shows that on just about any given day, Chickasha is occupied by more people who elsewhere than who live in the town, Cowan said. “They could be here for any number of reasons. Maybe they’re visiting someone in Grady Memorial Hospital. Maybe they’re at the Grady County Courthouse for legal reasons. Maybe they’re shopping downtown. Maybe they work at a business here.”
Chickasha is attracting visitors from Weatherford, Carnegie, Lawton, Cache, Meers, El Reno, Shawnee, Pauls Valley, Purcell, Bethany, Choctaw and elsewhere, Placer has shown.
The “average” person who comes to Chickasha arrives after a 30-minute drive, research indicates. That includes south Oklahoma City, Cowan noted.
“We’re trying to understand the metrics,” he said. “Chickasha is growing and we want to know why.”
Since 2020, Grady County has been the seventh fastest-growing county in the state, with a population increase of 5.9% during that period, according to World Population Review. Its two surrounding counties, Canadian (16.3% population growth, largely because of Mustang and Yukon) and Mc-Clain (17.4% population growth, with Newcastle and Purcell) “were first and second by a wide margin,” Cowan said.
‘In the middle of Everywhere’ The CEDC describes Chickasha as “in the middle of Everywhere.”
The town has “easy access” to Interstate highways 35 and 44. Oklahoma City Thunder basketball is a 40-minute drive northeast. The Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge and Medicine Park are about a 50-minute drive southwest. The University of Oklahoma and Southeast Conference sports are 45 minutes away in Norman.
Within an hour’s drive are 40 golf courses, 16 casinos, 35 museums, six state and national parks, three regional airports (Lawton-Fort Sill, Chickasha and Duncan) and one national airport (Oklahoma City). The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and its international airport are three hours south.
Beavers Bend State Park is a four-hour drive southeast in McCurtain County. Branson, Missouri’s entertainment venue is a five-hour drive northeast, and Kansas City with its professional football and baseball teams is six hours away.
“There’s something for everyone within a few hours of travel from Chickasha,” Cowan pointed out.