Kay County, Oklahoma: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy
Home to Ponca City, Blackwell and Tonkawa
Kay County is a power-producing county: the plants here serve load well beyond its borders. Kay County is home to Ponca City, Blackwell, Tonkawa and Newkirk. Next door, Sumner County, Kansas, has 765 MW of planned generation. Construction employs 1,057, up 8.3% since 2019. Its power plants have 1,358 MW of capacity, 78% of it wind. 352 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly wind.
Cities and towns in Kay County
Kay County is home to Ponca City, Blackwell, Tonkawa and Newkirk.
Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Nardin, Peckham, Tonkawa Tribal Housing, White Eagle.
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 Kay County
1st = the most. Ranks cover counties with a value on record.
| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Oklahoma |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 43,605 | 43,490 | ▼ 0.3% | 23rd of 77 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 17,682 | 17,568 | ▼ 0.6% | 41st of 77 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $42,890 | $51,434 | ▲ 19.9% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 976 | 1,057 | ▲ 8.3% | 30th of 48 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 115 | 86 | ▼ 25.2% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.9% | 4.0% | ▲ 0.1pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 352 MW | — | |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 48 MW | — |
48 MW has retired here since 2019, including Ponca (natural gas, 48 MW, 2022). Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co is the largest utility serving Kay County, one of 9 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.78¢/kWh in 2024, below the 12.53¢ median for Oklahoma utilities. Employers here counted 17,568 jobs in 2025, down 0.6% from 2019. Unemployment was 4.0% in August 2026, against 3.9% in 2019. 43,490 people live here, down 0.3% since 2020. Electrical contractors employ 86, down 25.2% since 2019 against up 8.3% statewide, at an average $65,904 a year.
Who powers Kay County
Net change in operating capacity since 2019: +304 MW. Colors follow the fuel legend above.
Utilities with service territory in Kay 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% |
| Indian Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 14,839 | 12.57¢ | 35% |
| City of Ponca City - (OK) | Municipal | Bundled | 13,790 | 11.93¢ | 35% |
| Kay Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 4,371 | 14.13¢ | 30% |
| City of Blackwell - (OK) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Town of Braman - (OK) | — | — | — | — | — |
| City of Newkirk - (OK) | — | — | — | — | — |
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 8
| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 1,065 MW | 78% |
| Natural gas | 256 MW | 19% |
| Hydro | 37 MW | 3% |
| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Windpower II | Deriva Energy | Wind | 352 MW | 2021 |
| Kay Wind, LLC | Southern Power Co | Wind | 299 MW | 2015 |
| Frontier Windpower | Deriva Energy | Wind | 200 MW | 2016 |
| Rock Falls Wind Farm LLC | Public Service Co of Oklahoma | Wind | 154 MW | 2017 |
| Ponca City | Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority | Natural gas | 134 MW | 1966 |
| Charles D. Lamb Energy Center | Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority | Natural gas | 122 MW | 2015 |
Retired since 2019
| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponca | Natural gas | 48 MW | 2022 |
The Kay County labor market
| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 17,568 | $51,434 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 1,057 | $67,190 | 1.14 |
| Electrical contractors | 86 | $65,904 | 0.68 |
| Power and communication line construction | 140 | $87,075 | 4.93 |
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 Kay County
No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Kay County. Oklahoma has 15 local measures on record statewide.
Kay County and its neighbors
Of the 6 counties that border Kay County, Sumner 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kay County | 43,490 | ▼ 0.6% | 1,358 MW | — | — | — |
| Cowley County KS | 34,382 | ▼ 3.3% | 41 MW | — | — | — |
| Garfield County | 61,779 | ▼ 4.4% | 1,721 MW | — | — | — |
| Grant County | 4,067 | ▼ 4.8% | 299 MW | — | — | — |
| Noble County | 10,899 | ▼ 1.7% | 1,656 MW | — | — | — |
| Osage County | 46,794 | ▲ 21.5% | 163 MW | — | — | — |
| Sumner County KS | 22,312 | ▼ 6.0% | 506 MW | 765 MW | — | — |
More of Oklahoma
Kay County, answered from the record
Who provides electricity in Kay County, Oklahoma?
9 utilities have service territory in Kay County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co, Public Service Co of Oklahoma, Indian Electric Coop, Inc, City of Ponca City - (OK). The largest, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co, charged residential customers 11.78¢/kWh on average in 2024.
What county is Ponca City, OK in?
Ponca City is in Kay County, Oklahoma. About 24,225 people live there (2025 Census estimate).
What power plants are in Kay County?
8 operating plants with 1,358 MW of capacity. The largest is Frontier Windpower II (352 MW, wind).
Are there data centers in Kay County?
The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Kay County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Sumner County.
Is Kay County adding jobs?
Employers counted 17,568 jobs in 2025 against 17,682 in 2019 (-0.6%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 976 to 1,057.
Does Kay County have a data center moratorium?
No county-level measure is on record for Kay County. Oklahoma has 15 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.