How many people are employed in Oklahoma?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Oklahoma has 1,358,788 employees across 92,981 business establishments in 755 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Oklahoma?

The largest industries in Oklahoma by employment are General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (69,765), Limited-Service Restaurants (67,183), and Full-Service Restaurants (61,438).

What is the average payroll in Oklahoma?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Oklahoma. The highest-paying tracked industry is Natural Gas Extraction at $149,800/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma has 92,981 business establishments across 755 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · OK · Census CBP 2023

Oklahoma Industry Benchmarks

Name: Oklahoma Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 755 industries in Oklahoma. Drill into any industry for a Oklahoma-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

1.4M
Workers: 93K
Establishments: 755
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Oklahoma

Oklahoma employs 1,358,788 workers across 755 tracked industries, led by General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (69,765 workers).

No single sector dominates Oklahoma (lead 17%; top-three 43%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

Oklahoma sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Oklahoma private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Oklahoma spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Health Care and Social Assistance, is only 17% of 1,358,788 private-sector workers (about the 41st percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

OK breadth ledger · HHI 0.097
Sector	Workers	Share
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	229,612	17%
Retail Trade (44)	188,566	14%
Accommodation and Food Services (72)	169,725	12%
Top-three cumulative 43% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns OK DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#30/51 · 1,358,788 workers · 92,981 firms

EMP 1,358,788
EST 92,981
RANK #30/51
PCT 41st pct
LEAD Health Care and Soci…
SHARE 17% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 14.6 /firm
BOOK 755 NAICS
PHOTO Iowa

Nearest employment-scale peer: Iowa (1,306,260 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Oklahoma ranks #30 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals NAICS 622110	69,765	128	$5.3B	$75,474/yr
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	67,183	3,024	$1.2B	$17,618/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	61,438	2,992	$1.3B	$21,662/yr
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices NAICS 551114	43,814	437	$3.5B	$80,707/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	27,320	3,332	$684.7M	$25,064/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	22,323	2,400	$2.4B	$106,109/yr
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	21,159	1,256	$1.6B	$76,198/yr
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores NAICS 445110	20,564	499	$550.6M	$26,776/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	18,276	307	$647.2M	$35,415/yr
Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations NAICS 213112	15,320	1,129	$1.4B	$88,776/yr
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores NAICS 447110	14,161	1,573	$379.1M	$26,768/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	14,106	297	$959.1M	$67,996/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	13,349	1,592	$749.6M	$56,154/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	12,368	840	$311.1M	$25,152/yr
Child Day Care Services NAICS 624410	12,353	1,055	$310.7M	$25,154/yr
Engineering Services NAICS 541330	11,452	564	N/A	N/A
Offices of Dentists NAICS 621210	10,649	1,373	$660.9M	$62,066/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	10,609	1,160	$654.0M	$61,644/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	10,371	289	$245.7M	$23,692/yr
General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload NAICS 484121	10,256	762	$683.3M	$66,629/yr

Breadth peers near Oklahoma's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,358,788 in Oklahoma), excluding OK.

Iowa 1,306,260 Nevada 1,298,196 Kansas 1,248,825 Utah 1,512,504 Connecticut 1,527,746 Oregon 1,635,645 Arkansas 1,072,827 Louisiana 1,658,849

Disclaimer: Oklahoma (OK) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Oklahoma businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · OK

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Oklahoma (OK). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →