County: Beaver
Region: Northwest
2000 County Population: 5,857
Labor Force within 30 Miles: 7,300

Located in the Oklahoma Panhandle, present-day Beaver County was created from the eastern one-third of that area. Named for Beaver River, this county comprised the entire panhandle prior to statehood. Its county seat, Beaver, was at one time the capital of Cimarron Territory.
Bordered on the north by Kansas and the south by Texas, Beaver County was crossed by the Jones and Plummer Trail. Established around 1874, this trail served first as a supply route and then a cattle trail between Texas and Kansas.
While the local economy is based on agriculture and cattle, it is also supplemented by the oil and gas industries, with the Colorado Interstate Gas and Northern Natural Gas companies located in Beaver. For more information, call the county commissioner's office at 580-625-3141.

Location: Beaver County is in the northwest part of Oklahoma at the eastern edge of the panhandle and is bordered by Kansas on the north and Texas on the south.
Climate: Precipitation averages 20.3 inches yearly in this area. The average January temperature is 38.1 degrees Fahrenheit and 77.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average July temperature.
County Seat: Beaver - population 1,570 (2000 census data)
Distances: Beaver to: Woodward - 83 miles Enid - 171 miles Oklahoma City- 223 miles
Land Area: 1,817 square miles of basically farm land.

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS

The population density of the county is 3.3 persons per square mile. The median age of all persons in the county is 36.6, the female median age is 38.0 and the male median age is 35.5.

UTILITIES

Utility services are provided primarily by the following carriers:

Southwestern Public Service Co.
Southern Union Gas
General Telephone Co. of the Southwest

LABOR FORCE

The Beaver County labor force was 2,830 in 1997. Participation rate in the county labor force constitutes 78.08% of males and 51.64% of females. An average annual unemployment rate of 3.4% was recorded by the county in 1998 and the per capita personal income for this county is $17,846 for 1997.

TRANSPORTATION

Beaver County, like other counties in Oklahoma, has the benefit of modern, quality transportation systems, facilities and services. Major highways in this county are U.S. 64, U.S. 270 and SH 23.

HOUSING

The county has 6,023 housing units of which 77.7% are owner occupied. The median home value in the county is $47,800, the median housing rental contract is $210.00 per month and statewide housing units number 1,406,499 and 68.1% of these are owner occupied. The statewide median home value is $48,100.

TAX STRUCTURE

The county tax in Beaver County is 2%, the state sales tax is 4.5%, local sales tax for cities in this county can be found in the individual community profiles and the corporate tax statewide is 6%.

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES

In Beaver County 75.3% of persons over 25 years of age have a high school diploma and 15.4% are college graduates. Statewide high school graduates in the same age range total 74.6% and the percent of college graduates over 25 years of age is 17.8%.

PRIMARY EMPLOYERS IN THE AREA

INDUSTRIAL SITES AND BUILDINGS

Data on Industrial and Building sites are available for this county. Please contact Information Management of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce for a current printout of this Real Estate Database. Call (405) 815-5144 in Oklahoma City.

TOURISM POINTS OF INTEREST

Recreation Area - Beaver State Park
Major Stream Systems - North Canadian (Beaver), and Cimarron rivers
Museums and Historic Sites - Beaver City

Revised May, 2000
Oklahoma Department of Commerce,
Information Management

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