Welcome to Tulsa!
Tulsa is the "Oil Capital of the World." Situated between the prairies of central Oklahoma and the foothills of the Ozarks, Tulsa is located in the Green Country region of Oklahoma. It is also affectionately called “T-town” by the locals. Here, the age of the oil boom found its center. In a small town by US standards, metropolitan luxuries such as theater, fine dining, nightlife, and shopping are found in a state known for sparsely populated farming communities. The picturesque downtown is surrounded by rolling hills covered with prairie grasses and ancient forests, a first impression that soon reveals world-class architecture and museums of art, miles of biking and walking trails, and huge parks. With a wealth of iconic sights and neighborhoods to explore, a trip to Tulsa can easily fit several weeks of touring.
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and the 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 1,015,331 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Tulsa County, the most densely populated county in Oklahoma, with urban development extending into Osage, Rogers, and Wagoner counties. Tulsa was settled between 1828 and 1836 by the Lochapoka Band of Creek Native American tribe and most of Tulsa is still part of the territory of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Historically, a robust energy sector fueled Tulsa's economy, however, today the city has diversified and leading sectors include finance, aviation, telecommunications, and technology. Two institutions of higher education within the city have sports teams at the NCAA Division I level, Oral Roberts University, the University of Tulsa, and the University of Oklahoma -Tulsa Schusterman Center which is the second Campus after Norman. For most of the 20th century, the city held the nickname "Oil Capital of the World" and played a major role as one of the most important hubs for the American oil industry. It is situated on the Arkansas River between the Osage Hills and the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in northeast Oklahoma, a region of the state known as "Green Country". Considered the cultural and arts center of Oklahoma, Tulsa houses two art museums, full-time professional opera and ballet companies, and one of the nation's largest concentrations of art deco architecture. The city has been called one of America's most livable large cities by Partners for Livable Communities, Forbes, and Relocate America. FDI Magazine in 2009 ranked city no. 8 in the U.S. for cities of the future. In 2012, Tulsa was ranked among the top 50 best cities in the United States by BusinessWeek. People from Tulsa are called "Tulsans".