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There's no denying that Austin is a pretty and vibrant place. And likely more than OKC (though, I'd be curious about seeing some pictures from there too at least!)
This thread is becoming a Texas v Oklahoma thread, which is a little absurd. You cannot really compare the second most populous state with the second largest economy and third largest geographic area with a small, much poorer one. Texas and Oklahoma share a border, college football rivalry and cattle and oil businesses, but otherwise they are not comparable at all, demographically, economically, politically, culturally.
OKC and Austin is a little more plausible, but are also very different. Numbers never tell the whole story but they do tell part of it. Austin is significantly larger, richer, way more liberal and better educated:
MSA population - OKC +- 1.4 million, Austin +-2.1 million
GDP per capita - OKC 43K, Austin 63K
percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher - OKC 36%, Austin 53%
OKC is now the most liberal city in Oklahoma, but Oklahoma county still voted for Trump by over 10% points. Travis county went for HRC by nearly 30% points in 2016
And the gap, which was widening before is only likely to widen further given OKC's economic dependence on Oil and Gas...
I would say Austin wins all of the OP's criteria handily, except for COL.
Urbanity: OKC should have better urban bones but it it does not. Very few downtowns in the U.S. were as decimated by urban renewal in the 1960s and 1970s as badly as OKC. While it is improving, I don't think downtown OKC will ever have the structural density it had in 1940...
Someone mentioned Tulsa upthread. Even though Tulsa is barely half the size of Austin, I think in certain ways, it might be a better comparison. Like Austin, it is green and hilly. The new Gathering Place is much closer to the Ladybird Lake Hike and Bike trail in Austin than anything I have seen in OKC. Tulsa is more architecturally distinguished than either OKC or Austin and also has better legacy institutions, which means it can be a little snooty in a way that neither OKC or Austin are. But Tulsa like Austin has more of a hipster artsy element in its core, a few great independent bookstores, an illustrious alternative music pedigree. It is home to the Woody Guthrie center. . .
That said, I don't think either Tulsa or OKC are peer cities to Austin. People who think Austin's peer cities are Boston or SF or even Seattle are on crack. Austin's peer cities are certain MSA's in the 2-2.5 million population range. I would say Sacramento is Austin's closest peer city: state capital of a large diverse state, a river runs through it, 4th largest city in its state, though Austin is a little more dynamic... Other peer cities would be San Antonio, Portland, Nashville, Columbus...
This thread is becoming a Texas v Oklahoma thread, which is a little absurd. You cannot really compare the second most populous state with the second largest economy and third largest geographic area with a small, much poorer one. Texas and Oklahoma share a border, college football rivalry and cattle and oil businesses, but otherwise they are not comparable at all, demographically, economically, politically, culturally.
OKC and Austin is a little more plausible, but are also very different. Numbers never tell the whole story but they do tell part of it. Austin is significantly larger, richer, way more liberal and better educated:
MSA population - OKC +- 1.4 million, Austin +-2.1 million
GDP per capita - OKC 43K, Austin 63K
percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher - OKC 36%, Austin 53%
OKC is now the most liberal city in Oklahoma, but Oklahoma county still voted for Trump by over 10% points. Travis county went for HRC by nearly 30% points in 2016
And the gap, which was widening before is only likely to widen further given OKC's economic dependence on Oil and Gas...
I would say Austin wins all of the OP's criteria handily, except for COL.
Urbanity: OKC should have better urban bones but it it does not. Very few downtowns in the U.S. were as decimated by urban renewal in the 1960s and 1970s as badly as OKC. While it is improving, I don't think downtown OKC will ever have the structural density it had in 1940...
Someone mentioned Tulsa upthread. Even though Tulsa is barely half the size of Austin, I think in certain ways, it might be a better comparison. Like Austin, it is green and hilly. The new Gathering Place is much closer to the Ladybird Lake Hike and Bike trail in Austin than anything I have seen in OKC. Tulsa is more architecturally distinguished than either OKC or Austin and also has better legacy institutions, which means it can be a little snooty in a way that neither OKC or Austin are. But Tulsa like Austin has more of a hipster artsy element in its core, a few great independent bookstores, an illustrious alternative music pedigree. It is home to the Woody Guthrie center. . .
That said, I don't think either Tulsa or OKC are peer cities to Austin. People who think Austin's peer cities are Boston or SF or even Seattle are on crack. Austin's peer cities are certain MSA's in the 2-2.5 million population range. I would say Sacramento is Austin's closest peer city: state capital of a large diverse state, a river runs through it, 4th largest city in its state, though Austin is a little more dynamic... Other peer cities would be San Antonio, Portland, Nashville, Columbus...
Austin's peer cities are Nashville, Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte IMO.. although I think Charlotte is a bit ahead of Austin.
The U.S. Census Bureau released data this week showing how many people moved to and from Texas in the last year. California sent more people our way than any other state — and we lost the most Texans to Oklahoma.
Granted this info is from 2011 but I chose to use it because it states it plainly.
I can find info like this up to 2015 or 2016 but it's harder to filter through.
Granted this info is from 2011 but I chose to use it because it states it plainly.
I can find info like this up to 2015 or 2016 but it's harder to filter through.
IRS data (which is comprehensive, but does exclude some individuals) suggest that migration between Texas and Oklahoma has been virtually even in recent years. Looking at the "# Exemptions" column in the link below, Oklahoma received a net influx of 7 in-migrants from Texas, out of nearly 42,000 persons moving between both states during 2017-2018.
In many respects (not so much ethnic/cultural), Oklahoma City probably aligns better with San Antonio than it does with Austin. Both areas have modest income and educational levels, a low cost of living, moderate population growth rates and a large federal and military presence. There is even some synergy between Bricktown and the Riverwalk - more so than with Austin's key urban landmarks.
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