Poteau

Poteau, Oklahoma
—  City  —
Location of Poteau, Oklahoma
Coordinates: 35°3′31″N 94°37′48″W / 35.05861°N 94.63°W / 35.05861; -94.63Coordinates: 35°3′31″N 94°37′48″W / 35.05861°N 94.63°W / 35.05861; -94.63
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
County	Le Flore
Area
• Total	31.7 sq mi (82.0 km2)
• Land	28.6 sq mi (74.2 km2)
• Water	3.0 sq mi (7.8 km2)
Elevation	489 ft (149 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	8,520
• Density	270/sq mi (100/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	74953
Area code(s)	539/918
FIPS code	40-60350[1]
GNIS feature ID	1096874[2]

Poteau ( /ˈpoʊtoʊ/ POH-toh) is a city in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,520 at the 2010 census, ranking fifth in the Greater Fort Smith Area. It is the county seat of Le Flore County^[3]. It is the home of the "World's Highest Hill", Cavanal Hill.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.7 square miles (82 km²), of which 28.6 square miles (74 km²) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²), or 9.54%, is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 7,939 people, 3,013 households, and 2,042 families residing in the city. The population density was 277.2 people per square mile (107.0/km²). There were 3,351 housing units at an average density of 117.0 per square mile (45.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.14% White, 2.24% African American, 10.00% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.39% from other races, and 3.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.82% of the population.

There were 3,013 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 12.8% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,178, and the median income for a family was $31,226. Males had a median income of $24,595 versus $20,625 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,175. About 19.3% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Noteworthy residents

• Kenneth Corn - former Oklahoma State Senator and Oklahoma State Representative who was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 2010.
• Mick Thompson - current Oklahoma State Banking Commissioner and former Oklahoma State Representative

References

External links

• City of Poteau official website
• Poteau Chamber of Commerce
• Buckley Public Library
• Carl Albert State College

v t e Municipalities and communities of Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States County seat: Poteau Cities Heavener Poteau Towns Arkoma Bokoshe Cameron Cowlington Fanshawe‡ Fort Coffee Howe Le Flore Panama Pocola Rock Island Shady Point Spiro Talihina Wister Unincorporated communities Big Cedar Big Creek Braden Calhoun Conser Forest Hill Forrester Gilmore Glendale Haw Creek Hill Hodgen Honobia‡ Hontubby Lenox Loving Milton Monroe Montclair Addition Muse Neff Octavia Page Petros Reichert Scullyville Stapp Stony Point Summerfield Tahona Tucker Whitesboro Williams Zoe Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties