Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global reaffirmed the City of Oklahoma City’s highest possible bond ratings, citing strong financial management and stability.
Oklahoma City recorded the second-largest jump in rankings on the Milken Institute’s 2025 Best-Performing Cities list, rising 86 spots from 144th to 58th.
Oklahoma is attracting thousands of new residents each year, drawn by its affordable housing, job opportunities, and quality of life. In 2023 alone, more than 25,000 people moved to the state, according to a recent migration study by StorageCafe using the latest U.S. Census data. This steady influx placed Oklahoma among the top 10 states for net migration.
Wheeler Bio announced its successful completion of an oversubscribed Series A-1 financing round, meaning the Oklahoma City-based company attracted more investor interest and funding offers than initially sought, a strong indicator of confidence in the company’s growth and potential. The $35 million round was led by Alloy Therapeutics and Echo Investment Capital (Echo), with additional participation from Mitsubishi Corp. (Americas), Germin8 Ventures and Russell Westbrook Enterprises.
Oklahoma is emerging as a growing hub for life sciences, fueled by research and innovation at state institutions, public and private partnerships and a $35 million federal investment to support the state's life science cluster.
Oklahoma leads the nation in profit per employee among Fortune 500 companies, according to a DoFollow report using data from the 2024 Fortune 500 rankings.
Oklahoma City's steady job growth, younger-than-average population and role as the state's economic driver position the metro for long-term success, according to the 2025 Greater Oklahoma City Economic Outlook. The study, completed by Russell Evans, partner and chief economist for Thorberg Collective, and Eric Long, research economist for the Chamber, projects a 2.5% increase in metro job growth for 2025, adding 18,200 jobs.
Oklahoma ranked ninth in the nation for the annual cost of raising a child, making it one of the more affordable states in the United States. The estimated annual cost to raise a child in Oklahoma is $19,535, according to data compiled by Visual Capitalist. This places the state at 42nd on the list, since the article rankings are listed from most to least expensive.
