# Carter County, Oklahoma: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Ardmore, Lone Grove and Healdton Carter County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Carter County is home to Ardmore, Lone Grove, Healdton and Wilson. Unemployment was 6.0% in August 2026, against 3.3% in 2019. Construction employs 908, down 32.4% since 2019. Next door, Stephens County has 458 MW of planned generation. Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co is the largest utility serving Carter County, one of 5 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.78¢/kWh in 2024, below the 12.53¢ median for Oklahoma utilities. -17.9% electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 239 11.78¢ per kWh for Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co residential customers, 2024 +0.6% total jobs since 2019, now 23,466 ## Cities and towns in Carter County Carter County is home to Ardmore, Lone Grove, Healdton and Wilson. Ardmore24,956 residents Lone Grove5,244 residents Healdton2,350 residents Wilson1,439 residents Dickson1,363 residents Springer701 residents Gene Autry156 residents Tatums118 residents Ratliff City65 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Fox. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Carter County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Oklahoma | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 48,040 | 48,910 | ▲ 1.8% | 20th of 77 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 23,326 | 23,466 | ▲ 0.6% | 37th of 77 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $43,935 | $54,303 | ▲ 23.6% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,343 | 908 | ▼ 32.4% | 44th of 48 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 291 | 239 | ▼ 17.9% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.3% | 6.0% | ▲ 2.7pts | — | Employers here counted 23,466 jobs in 2025, up 0.6% from 2019. 48,910 people live here, up 1.8% since 2020. Electrical contractors employ 239, down 17.9% since 2019 against up 8.3% statewide, at an average $64,316 a year. ## Who powers Carter County ### Utilities with service territory in Carter County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 710,123 | 11.78¢ | 44% | | Cotton Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 19,696 | 11.86¢ | 24% | | Red River Valley Rrl Elec Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 15,852 | 11.38¢ | 20% | | People's Electric Cooperative | Cooperative | Bundled | 14,728 | 12.53¢ | 28% | | Rural Electric Coop, Inc - (OK) | Cooperative | Bundled | 9,047 | 11.35¢ | 50% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. No operating power plant is located in Carter County in the EIA-860M inventory. Its power comes over the grid from plants elsewhere. ## The Carter County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 23,466 | $54,303 | 1.00 | | Construction | 908 | $59,928 | 0.73 | | Electrical contractors | 239 | $64,316 | 1.41 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Carter County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Carter County. Oklahoma has 15 local measures on record statewide. ## Carter County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Carter County, Stephens County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Carter County | 48,910 | ▲ 0.6% | — | — | — | — | | Garvin County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/garvin-county) | 26,377 | ▼ 4.7% | — | — | — | — | | Jefferson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/jefferson-county) | 5,431 | ▼ 21.5% | — | — | — | — | | Johnston County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/johnston-county) | 10,448 | ▲ 5.1% | 304 MW | — | — | — | | Love County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/love-county) | 10,780 | ▼ 13.1% | 3 MW | — | — | — | | Marshall County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/marshall-county) | 16,255 | ▲ 23.9% | — | — | — | — | | Murray County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/murray-county) | 13,805 | ▼ 13.8% | 512 MW | — | — | — | | Stephens County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/stephens-county) | 44,310 | ▲ 0.7% | 250 MW | 458 MW | — | — | ## More of Oklahoma [All Oklahoma countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma)[Stephens County44,310 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/stephens-county)[Garvin County26,377 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/garvin-county)[Marshall County16,255 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/marshall-county)[Murray County13,805 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/murray-county)[Love County10,780 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/love-county) ## Carter County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Carter County, Oklahoma? 5 utilities have service territory in Carter County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co, Cotton Electric Coop, Inc, Red River Valley Rrl Elec Assn, People's Electric Cooperative. The largest, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co, charged residential customers 11.78¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Ardmore, OK in? Ardmore is in Carter County, Oklahoma. About 24,956 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### Are there data centers in Carter County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Carter County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Stephens County. ### Is Carter County adding jobs? Employers counted 23,466 jobs in 2025 against 23,326 in 2019 (+0.6%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 1,343 to 908. ### Does Carter County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Carter County. Oklahoma has 15 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/carter-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).