grow in a vibrant region

GROW IN A VIBRANT REGION
#TulsaChamber
THE TULSA REGION HAS A LONG HISTORY OF BUSINESS SUCCESS, starting with the oil boom in the early 1900s that brought many
oil barons to the city. Oil was discovered just south of Tulsa in 1905—yielding the sweetest crude the world had ever
seen. At one time, this city was the largest oil-producing center on earth, with more than 400 oil companies located here.
Tulsa soon became known as the “OIL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.”
Since that time, MANY OTHER INDUSTRIES HAVE FOUND SUCCESS HERE: manufacturing, aerospace
and transportation to name a few. Because of area’s low cost of doing business and skilled workforce, it is an ideal
location for business growth. As a result, today Tulsa is a vibrant city with many diverse, profitable industries and an everexpanding array of living and entertainment opportunities.
REGIONAL PARTNERS
Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce
City of Sand Springs
Muskogee City - County Port Authority
Broken Arrow Chamber
of Commerce & ED Corporation
City of Sapulpa
Okmulgee Area Development Corporation
The Cherokee Nation
City of Skiatook
The Osage Nation
City of Tulsa
Owasso Chamber of Commerce
CIEDA
Skiatook Chamber of Commerce
Grand River Dam Authority
Stillwater Chamber of Commerce
INCOG
Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust
Jenks Chamber of Commerce
Tulsa County
City of Jenks
Miami Area Economic
Development Service
Tulsa Port of Catoosa
City of Okmulgee
MidAmerica Industrial Park
City of Owasso
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
City of Bixby
City of Bristow
City of Broken Arrow
City of Claremore
City of Collinsville
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Tulsa Regional Chamber
Wagoner County Economic
Development Authority
HOME TO ONE OF THE WORLD’S
LARGEST AVIATION AND AEROSPACE MAINTENANCE BASES.
American Airlines’ 3.3-million-square-foot Maintenance & Engineering Center is one of
the largest of its kind in the world. Besides maintaining its own fleet, American also provides
third-party aircraft maintenance.
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GROWING ENERGY SECTOR.
NURTURING PROGRESSIVE CORPORATIONS.
Energy plays a significant role in the region’s economy, employing thousands and contributing to a
The region is home to headquartered companies and regional offices including FlightSafety,
QuikTrip Corp., US Cellular, ONE Gas, Verizon, Bank of Oklahoma, The Bama Companies,
Williams Companies and NORDAM. For the fourteenth straight year, convenience store giant
QuikTrip once again captured a spot on Fortune magazine’s 2016 list of the “100 Best Companies to
Work For.” QuikTrip employs nearly 18,000 people nationwide.
diverse economy. Highlights of recent growth in Tulsa/northeast Oklahoma include the establishment
of Calyx Energy, Atalaya Resources and Intensity Midstream, plus expansions of Magellan Midstream
Partners, Blueknight Energy Partners and RAM Energy. Other well-known energy companies include
Williams, ONEOK, ONE Gas, Helmerich & Payne, Cimarex and HollyFrontier Corp.
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INVESTING IN ITS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
Tulsa International Airport (TUL) has completed a five-year, $150 million capital improvement
plan for 22 projects, including the total renovation of its terminals and existing infrastructure.
Aside from its 4,000 acres, the airport has an additional 700 acres considered “shovel ready.”
The airport serves nearly three million annually from the four-state region of northeast Oklahoma,
Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas.
HOME TO THE NATION’S MOST INLAND WATER PORT.
The Tulsa Port of Catoosa offers year-round, ice-free barge service with river flow levels controlled
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and is located at the head of navigation for the
McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in northeast Oklahoma. The port’s 2,000-acre
industrial park is a fully equipped, multimodal transportation center.
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PRODUCING HIGHLY SKILLED
WORKERS AT ITS MANY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.
The Tulsa Region is home to seven progressive colleges and universities that have thousands of welltrained graduates each year. Both state schools, OSU-Tulsa and OU-Tulsa, provide higher
ed/graduate degrees right here in the city. The University of Tulsa has a long list of notable
undergraduate degrees, a law school and a petroleum engineering school rated among the
best in the nation. Oral Roberts University is known for its graduate seminary, nursing and
social services programs. Oklahoma’s largest community college, Tulsa Community College,
offers four area campuses. Spartan School of Aeronautics is one of the premier aviation and
flight schools in the country. Tulsa Tech, the oldest and largest tech school in the Oklahoma
CareerTech system is located here too. Whatever your field of business, you’ll find qualified
new hires here to help grow your business.
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ATTRACTING YOUNG, CREATIVE TALENT.
With more than 8,000 members, Tulsa’s Young Professionals (TYPros) is considered
among the largest organizations of its kind in the United States and serves as a best practices
role model for other metro regions. Part of its mission is to attract and retain college
graduates and young professionals.
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CONSIDERED AN ACCEPTING AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY.
Mosaic, the Chamber’s diversity business council’s primary focus is to create awareness about
the competitive advantage of having a diverse and inclusive business climate
in our region.
Mosaic seeks to leverage the region’s diversity to improve
perceptions of our community and grow the economy. Ultimately,
Mosaic wishes to catapult the Tulsa region into the forefront of
diversity and inclusion through talent recruitment initiatives and
business retention and expansion efforts.
mosaic
TRAINING STUDENTS TO DEFEND AMERICA’S CYBERSPACE.
The University of Tulsa (TU) was recently ranked in the top 100 national universities in U.S. News &
World Report’s “Best Colleges 2016.” TU’s Institute for Information Security (iSec) faculty and
staff have produced some of the country’s leading professionals in information security, digital
forensics, Internet security and telecommunications security.
Mosaic’s mission is to educate, lead and influence businesses on
creating diverse and inclusive workforce cultures to enhance their competitive advantage.
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INVESTED MORE THAN $1 BILLION IN
PUBLIC/PRIVATE MONEY INTO DOWNTOWN.
A new arena, new office towers, a renovated convention center, new hotels, new lofts, more
parking, street improvements, better walkability/way-finding, new street lighting, new parks, new
retail, new bars and restaurants, a new ballpark, new art centers, new and improving entertainment
venues, and more are found in downtown Tulsa.
When famed architect César Pelli unveiled his design concept for Tulsa’s 18,000-seat BOK Center, he
described a structure “full of movement, speed and life that will speak to the 21st century.” The BOK
Center joins famous Pelli-designed structures such as the World Financial Center and Carnegie Hall
Tower in New York City, Canary Wharf Tower in London and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
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RENOVATED AND EXPANDED THE CONVENTION CENTER.
DEVELOPING THE RIVERFRONT AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS.
Tulsans invested more than $50 million into the Cox Business Center. The 200,000-square-foot
convention center offers 35 breakout rooms, a 9,000-seat arena and Oklahoma’s largest ballroom.
An additional $50 million has been pledged for even more improvements thanks to the recently
passed Vision Tulsa initiative.
A Gathering Place for Tulsa will transform nearly 100 acres of Tulsa’s waterfront along the
Arkansas River into a $350 million multi-purpose park – rivaling any in the country. The park,
centrally located, will include features such as a lodge, boathouse, nature walks, two land bridges
connecting the two sides of river parks, sporting areas and a pond.
MOVED BALLPARK TO THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN.
Other highlights include the $335 million Margaritaville at River Spirit Casino, in addition to the
highly popular Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Osage Casino. The Oklahoma Aquarium, as well
as new retail, restaurant and residential developments, grace both sides of the Arkansas River.
The Tulsa Drillers, the city’s AA baseball club, is part of the oldest professional sports franchise in the
city of Tulsa. Professional baseball began in Tulsa in 1905 and has been played here for over 100
years. The city recently moved the team into a downtown ballpark, ONEOK Field, which seats
6,200 per game and brings in an estimated 400,000 attendees and $55 million per year.
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ANCHORED BY RIVER PARKS AND TRAILS THAT EXTEND
50 MILES AROUND THE CITY.
Tulsa River Parks is an 800-acre city park that runs for more than 26 miles along the banks
of the Arkansas River, connecting downtown to south Tulsa with landscaped trail and picnic
areas. Private donors raised $111 million for trail enhancements, including the $3 million
QuikTrip Plaza.
A Gathering Place for Tulsa, a new $350 million 100-acre park, broke ground in late 2014 adjacent
to the River Parks offering residents a world-class, one-of-kind destination for all to enjoy.
EMERGING CENTERS OF ART AND ENTERTAINMENT.
The legendary Cain’s Ballroom, and the haunted national treasure Brady Theater together bring
more than 100,000 visitors to Tulsa’s downtown every year. Bars, restaurants and a burgeoning
community of artists living and working downtown form the nucleus of Tulsa’s A&E district.
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BUILDING A BRIGHTER FUTURE THROUGH THE
TULSA’S FUTURE PROGRAM.
Since 2006 Tulsa’s Future has created more than 44,000 jobs and added more than $2.9 billion to
the region’s economy. 47 new businesses have been created and 431 businesses have expanded.
New community development projects have been funded for river development, infrastructure
and schools. The region is actively working to attract talent via ChooseTulsa.com and other
workforce initiatives.
Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma offer many great things, and they all add up to create an ideal place
for the location of your next business relocation or expansion. Starting back in the days of
the oil boom and continuing today, many businesses have found success here thanks to our educated
workforce, low cost of doing business, central location and ease of transportation. You’ll also
find Tulsa a welcoming city with an active community that’s perfect for your employees and their
families or visiting business associates. You’ll discover that when looking for the right mix of
business productivity and quality of life, the Tulsa Region is the right place to grow your business.
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More than 118 public and private sector
investors including 25 regional partners in northeast
Oklahoma support Tulsa’s Future’s efforts.
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POPULATION GROWTH RATES
PER CAPITA PERSONAL INCOME
PERCENTAGE OF CHANGE
Tulsa MSA
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND STATISTICS
SELECT GEOGRAPHIES
2000-2010 2015-2020
9.1%
3.5%
U.S.
2013
$41,438
2014
$46,049
Unemployment
Labor Force
March 2016
Oklahoma
8.7%
3.1%
Tulsa MSA
$47,857
$49,807
4.1%
U.S.
9.7%
4.1%
Tulsa County
$54,302
$56,401
3.9%
Tulsa MSA*
Oklahoma
$38,960
$43,637
4.0%
U.S.
Unemployment Rate
March 2016
Feb. 2016
Jan. 2016
Mar. 2015
1,788,145
81,745
1,869,890
4.4%
4.2%
4.1%
4.2%
457,758
22,019
479,777
4.6%
4.7%
4.3%
4.0%
3.6%
Oklahoma
151,320,000
7,966,000
159,286,000
5.0%
4.9%
4.9%
5.5%
Arkansas
1,303,901
55,007
1,358,908
4.0%
4.2%
4.4%
5.5%
Kansas
1,452,997
59,721
1,512,718
3.9%
4.0%
4.0%
4.3%
AS PERCENT OF U.S. AVERAGE
Louisiana
2,026,645
131,939
2,158,584
6.1%
5.9%
5.9%
6.6%
Missouri
3,031,871
132,303
3,164,174
4.2%
4.2%
4.2%
5.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau/Demographics Now
May 2016
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, www.bea.gov May 2016
COST OF LIVING INDEX TULSA MSA
Tulsa MSA
Composite Index
86.0%
Grocery
94.3%
Housing
64.6%
Utilities
97.9%
Transportation
93.0%
Health Care
94.6%
Miscellaneous
93.8%
Source: C2ER Year End 2015
COST OF DOING BUSINESS
AS PERCENT OF U.S. AVERAGE
Tulsa MSA
86.0%
Source: Precis Metro, Moody’s Economy.com,
December 2016
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Employment
Growth Rate
New Mexico
ESTIMATED MIX OF EDUCATION ATTAINMENT
AS PERCENT OF AGE 25+ POPULATION
Texas
Tulsa MSA
Oklahoma
U.S.
2.9%
3.7%
4.7%
Grade K–8
8.2%
9.0%
8.1%
High School Graduate
Grade 9–12
29.9%
31.8%
28.2%
Some College, No Degree
24.5%
24.3%
21.2%
Associate’s Degree
8.4%
7.0%
7.8%
Bachelor’s Degree
17.6%
15.7%
18.0%
Graduate Degree
7.8%
7.7%
10.7%
Source: Demographics Now May 2016
861,318
59,356
918,684
6.2%
6.4%
6.5%
6.5%
12,696,526
577,214
13,273,740
4.3%
4.3%
4.5%
4.4%
*Not adjusted for seasonality
RECENT RANKINGS
No. 1 city among top 100 U.S. metros on growth and inclusion (Brookings Institute 2016)
No. 2 city among top 10 U.S. cities for first-time homebuyers (Smartasset.com 2016)
No. 3 nationally for new and expanded facilities among tier II cities (Site Selection 2016)
No. 6 best state for lowest overall tax burden (WalletHub.com 2016)
No. 9 best city nationally for starting a business (WalletHub.com 2016)
No. 11 among best states for taxes/lowest overall tax burden (Forbes 2016)
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Tulsa Regional Chamber, Economic Development
Williams Center Tower I
One West Third Street, Suite 100
Tulsa, OK 74103
Ph: 918.585.1201 · 800.624.6822
GrowMetroTulsa.com
©2016 Tulsa Regional Chamber