Collinsville one of fastest growing
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the northern Tulsa County city has 324 new residents.
CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writer
7/1/2009
Collinsville grew 6.9 percent in 2008, making it one of the fastest growing cities in the state in the past year, according to a government report.
The northern Tulsa County city is home to 5,039 people after adding an estimated 324 residents from July 2007 to July 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
"Awesome," said Collinsville City Manager Pam Polk, when told of the estimates.
She said the housing market in the city has been strong in recent years.
"I think it's because our dirt is still a little bit cheaper than everybody to the south of us," Polk said.
Improvements to city roads, downtown and the school district also have all contributed to the increase in city population, she said.
"We have a good education system," Polk said.
Collinsville's ranking is contained in nationwide city population estimates released early Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The population estimates are based in part on building permit data gathered by the Census Bureau.
Only the Garfield County town of Fairmont recorded a higher growth rate than Collinsville, with a 7 percent increase in population to 152 residents. Collinsville has seen a 24 percent population rise
since 2000, when it had 4,077 residents.
Overall, five of the 11 fastest growing cities in the state with at least a population of 1,000 or more residents were located in Tulsa County.
Owasso, Collinsville's neighbor to the south, was the No. 4 fastest-growing city in the state in 2008.
Owasso grew an estimated 5.5 percent to 27,467 residents in 2008, census figures indicate.
The Tulsa County municipalities of Jenks, Glenpool and Skiatook all grew at rates ranging from 5 percent to 3.9 percent.
Tulsa, which has posted steady growth since 2005, added 1,913 residents during 2008, for a 0.5 percent growth rate.
Tulsa's 385,635 population in July 2008 is still below that of its all-time high population of 393,049 residents recorded during the 2000 census.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, grew 1.2 percent in 2008 to 551,789 residents.
Meanwhile, Broken Arrow with an estimated 92,931 residents, moved up to the fourth most populous city in the state, eclipsing Lawton which was pushed to the No. 5 most populated city in the state.
The population ranking flop is attributed to Broken Arrow picking up 2,381 residents and Lawton suffering a decrease of 1,583.
Polk said while the local economy has suffered some in recent months, she noted Collinsville has seen an increase in the number of building permits that it issues.
"We've had several families that have moved in from California because they sell their places out there and they can come here and buy a much bigger place for a lot less money," Polk said.