Perry, Oklahoma

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Coordinates: 36°17′29″N 97°17′28″W / 36.29139, -97.29111
Perry, Oklahoma
Location of Perry, Oklahoma
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Noble
Area
- Total	6.8 sq mi (17.7 km²)
- Land	6.1 sq mi (15.7 km²)
- Water	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km²)
Elevation	1,010 ft (308 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	5,230
- Density	860.1/sq mi (332.1/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	73077
Area code(s)	580
FIPS code	40-58250^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1096555^[2]

Perry is a city in Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 5,230 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Noble County^[3]. Located on Interstate 35, it is one of the few cities on interstate 35 between Wichita and Oklahoma City. The city's economy is centered around ^[4]The Charles Machine Works, which is the world headquarters and manufacturing facility of Ditch Witch machines. Perry recently moved from a strong mayor form of government to a Home Rule Charter. The town is in the process of transitioning to a City Manager. Perry was settled in 1893 as part of the Cherokee Outlet, and was at one time referred to as Hell's Half-Acre.

Perry is also one of a small number of towns in Oklahoma to still have a Carnegie library as its public library. It is the smallest town in Oklahoma with a daily newspaper.^[5]

Timothy McVeigh was stopped on April 19, 1995, along Interstate 35 just outside of Perry by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Charles J. Hanger. Hanger had passed McVeigh's yellow 1977 Mercury Marquis and noticed it had no license plate. He arrested McVeigh for carrying a loaded firearm. Three days later, while still in jail, McVeigh was identified as the subject of the nationwide manhunt.^[6]^[7]

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Business
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Perry is located at 36°17′29″N, 97°17′28″W (36.291424, -97.291144)^[8].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.7 km²), of which, 6.1 square miles (15.7 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (1.9 km²) of it (10.98%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 5,230 people, 2,203 households, and 1,445 families residing in the city. The population density was 860.1 people per square mile (332.1/km²). There were 2,493 housing units at an average density of 410.0/sq mi (158.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.73% White, 3.14% African American, 3.35% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 2.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.84% of the population.

There were 2,203 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,653, and the median income for a family was $37,731. Males had a median income of $30,485 versus $22,039 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,924. About 10.4% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.