Shawnee, Oklahoma

Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, USA. The population was 28,692 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Pottawatomie County and is part of the Oklahoma City Consolidated Metropolitan Area and is the principal city of the Shawnee Primary Statistical Area.

Located on Interstate 40, Shawnee is just 30 minutes east of attractions of downtown Oklahoma City. Just a few miles away, the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System offers barge access to the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes region.

Major employers in the Shawnee area consistently report average absenteeism rates of only 2% and 7% turnover. Human resources personnel at Shawnee firms indicate that Oklahoma workers are more productive than plants similar in operation elsewhere in the continent. Shawnee is an active Main Street community. The Oklahoma Main Street Program is a downtown revitalization program.

Shawnee has a sister city program with Nikaho in Akita, Japan. This is most likely due to the presence of a TDK plant in Shawnee. Every year junior high students from Shawnee visit Nikaho in July, and Japanese junior high students visit Shawnee in September.

Geography

Shawnee is located at (35.342474, -96.933775).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 115.7 km² (44.7 mi²). 109.5 km² (42.3 mi²) of it is land and 6.2 km² (2.4 mi²) of it (5.37%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,692 people, 11,311 households, and 7,306 families residing in the city. The population density was 262.1/km² (678.9/mi²). There were 12,651 housing units at an average density of 115.6/km² (299.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.03% White, 4.06% African American, 12.82% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 4.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.72% of the population.

There were 11,311 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 15.2% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,659, and the median income for a family was $35,690. Males had a median income of $29,792 versus $20,768 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,676. About 13.8% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.