# Coal County, Oklahoma: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Coalgate No data center or power plant project is on record in Coal County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Coal County is home to Coalgate. Construction employs 104, down 32.9% since 2019, and construction is 1.6 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. Employers here counted 1,234 jobs in 2025, down 8.0% from 2019. 62 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly natural gas. Its power plants have 62 MW of capacity, 100% of it natural gas. 1.6× the U.S. share of jobs in construction -8.0% total jobs since 2019, now 1,234 62 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas ## Cities and towns in Coal County Coal County is home to Coalgate. Coalgate1,735 residents Tupelo333 residents Lehigh281 residents Phillips128 residents Centrahoma82 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Clarita, Cottonwood. 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 Coal County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Oklahoma | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 5,276 | 5,436 | ▲ 3.0% | 66th of 77 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,342 | 1,234 | ▼ 8.0% | 64th of 77 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $40,444 | $53,078 | ▲ 31.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 155 | 104 | ▼ 32.9% | 45th of 48 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.0% | 4.3% | ▲ 0.3pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 62 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co is the largest utility serving Coal County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.78¢/kWh in 2024, below the 12.53¢ median for Oklahoma utilities. Unemployment was 4.3% in August 2026, against 4.0% in 2019. 5,436 people live here, up 3.0% since 2020. ## Who powers Coal County ### Utilities with service territory in Coal 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% | | Public Service Co of Oklahoma | Investor Owned | Bundled | 501,093 | 12.73¢ | 36% | | Southeastern Electric Coop Inc - (OK) | Cooperative | Bundled | 15,583 | 9.09¢ | 9% | | People's Electric Cooperative | Cooperative | Bundled | 14,728 | 12.53¢ | 28% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Natural gas | 62 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Centrahoma East | Peoples Electric Cooperative | Natural gas | 25 MW | 2019 | | Centrahoma West | Peoples Electric Cooperative | Natural gas | 25 MW | 2019 | | Little Dixie | Peoples Electric Cooperative | Natural gas | 12 MW | 2019 | ## The Coal County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 1,234 | $53,078 | 1.00 | | Construction | 104 | $100,427 | 1.59 | 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 Coal County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Coal County. Oklahoma has 15 local measures on record statewide. ## Coal County and its neighbors Of the 5 counties that border Coal County, Pittsburg 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Coal County | 5,436 | ▼ 8.0% | 62 MW | — | — | — | | Atoka County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/atoka-county) | 14,609 | ▲ 7.1% | — | — | — | — | | Hughes County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/hughes-county) | 13,455 | ▼ 8.0% | 8 MW | — | — | — | | Johnston County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/johnston-county) | 10,448 | ▲ 5.1% | 304 MW | — | — | — | | Pittsburg County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/pittsburg-county) | 43,320 | ▼ 9.7% | 1,375 MW | — | — | — | | Pontotoc County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/pontotoc-county) | 38,528 | ▲ 7.8% | 152 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Oklahoma [All Oklahoma countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma)[Pittsburg County43,320 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/pittsburg-county)[Pontotoc County38,528 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/pontotoc-county)[Atoka County14,609 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/atoka-county)[Hughes County13,455 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/hughes-county)[Johnston County10,448 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/johnston-county) ## Coal County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Coal County, Oklahoma? 4 utilities have service territory in Coal County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co, Public Service Co of Oklahoma, Southeastern Electric Coop Inc - (OK), People's Electric Cooperative. The largest, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co, charged residential customers 11.78¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Coal County? 3 operating plants with 62 MW of capacity. The largest is Centrahoma East (25 MW, natural gas). ### Are there data centers in Coal County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Coal County. ### Is Coal County adding jobs? Employers counted 1,234 jobs in 2025 against 1,342 in 2019 (-8.0%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 155 to 104. ### Does Coal County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Coal County. Oklahoma has 15 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/coal-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/).