Nowata County is a county in Oklahoma, United States, on the Kansas border in the northeastern part of the state. It had a population of 9,320 at the 2020 census and covers 581 square miles (1,500 km2), 566 square miles of it land, centred near 36°47′N 95°37′W.
Nowata is the county seat, and its postal code is 74048. The county has one city, five towns, and several unincorporated communities. It sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Nowata County
Nowata County has six incorporated places and a handful of unincorporated communities and former townsites carried on local maps. The table below marks each place’s type; CDP means an unincorporated Census-Designated Place, and Unincorp. covers small communities and ghost towns with no municipal government.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nowata | City · seat | — | 74048 |
| Delaware | Town | — | 74027 |
| Lenapah | Town | — | 74042 |
| New Alluwe | Town | — | 74048 |
| South Coffeyville | Town | — | 74072 |
| Wann | Town | — | 74083 |
| Watova | CDP | — | 74048 |
| Alluwe | Unincorp. | — | 74048 |
| Childers | Unincorp. | — | 74048 |
| Coodys Bluff | Unincorp. | — | 74048 |
| Elliott | Unincorp. | — | 74048 |
| Glenoak | Unincorp. | — | 74048 |
| Noxie | Unincorp. | — | 74048 |
| Ruthdale | Unincorp. | — | 74048 |
| Sanders | Unincorp. | — | 74048 |
Alluwe is a genuine ghost town today, its original townsite abandoned after the Great Depression and partly submerged by the later damming of the Verdigris River; the modern community of New Alluwe formed nearby to take its place, which is why both names still appear on maps a few miles apart.
ZIP Codes
- 74048 — Nowata (also serves New Alluwe, Watova, Alluwe, Childers, Coodys Bluff, Elliott, Glenoak, Noxie, Ruthdale and Sanders)
- 74027 — Delaware
- 74042 — Lenapah
- 74072 — South Coffeyville
- 74083 — Wann
Most of the county’s smaller unincorporated communities have no post office of their own and are served by the Nowata ZIP.
Geography
Nowata County lies in the Osage Plains, gently rolling prairie cut by the Verdigris River, which crosses the county roughly north to south and feeds Lake Oologah at the county’s southern edge. Bird Creek and Coon Creek are the other main drainages. The terrain supports the county’s mix of cattle pasture and row-crop farmland, with scattered post-oak timber along the creek bottoms.
Nowata County borders Montgomery and Labette counties in Kansas to the north, Craig County to the east, Rogers County to the south, and Washington County to the west. Montgomery and Labette counties, in Kansas, have no page on this site.
Demographics
The county’s 2020 population was 9,320, spread across Nowata, the largest town, and South Coffeyville, its second largest. Nowata County’s median household income runs well below the Oklahoma median of $62,138 — the county’s economy is thin and rural, without the oil-field or metro-adjacent income of neighboring Rogers and Washington counties. Population density works out to roughly 16 people per square mile, among the more sparsely settled counties in northeastern Oklahoma.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture anchors the county: wheat, corn, oats and sorghum in the bottomland fields, and cattle ranching on the upland pasture that covers most of the acreage. Nowata serves as the county’s commercial hub, with a hospital, the county courthouse, and the local school district. Oil and gas production, a legacy of the early-1900s boom that first drew settlers to the area, still contributes royalty income to landowners across the county.
History
Nowata County was organized in 1907, the year Oklahoma became a state, with a population then of 10,453 — higher than today’s count. Its name comes from a Delaware word, no-we-ata, meaning “come here” or “welcome,” a legacy of the Delaware (Lenape) people relocated to the area after removal from the East. Lenapah and Delaware, two of the county’s towns, carry that same Delaware heritage in their names. The early 20th-century oil boom around Nowata and Alluwe briefly swelled the county’s population well past its current level before the fields declined.
Getting There
U.S. Highway 60 runs east–west through the county and U.S. Highway 169 runs north–south, meeting at Nowata; State Highways 10 and 28 provide secondary connections.
- Bartlesville — 20 miles west
- Coffeyville, Kansas — 15 miles north
- Tulsa — 45 miles southeast
- Vinita — 25 miles east
The nearest commercial airport is Tulsa International Airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Nowata County?
It is in northeastern Oklahoma, on the Kansas state line, between Bartlesville and Vinita.
What is the population of Nowata County?
9,320 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Nowata County?
581 square miles (1,500 km2), of which 566 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Nowata County?
Nowata is the county seat.
How many towns are in Nowata County?
One city (Nowata) and five towns (Delaware, Lenapah, New Alluwe, South Coffeyville and Wann), plus several unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Nowata County?
74048 (Nowata), 74027 (Delaware), 74042 (Lenapah), 74072 (South Coffeyville) and 74083 (Wann).
Why is Nowata County named that?
Its name comes from a Delaware word meaning “come here” or “welcome,” reflecting the Delaware (Lenape) people who settled the area after removal from the eastern United States.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Oklahoma.