Atoka County, Oklahoma

Atoka County is a county in Oklahoma, United States, about 137 miles southeast of Oklahoma
City. It had a population of 14,143 at the 2020 census, an estimated 14,609 by 2025, and covers
990 square miles (2,600 km2) centred near 34°23′N 96°03′W.

Atoka is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city; its postal code is 74525.
The county holds 1 city, 3 incorporated towns and 3 census-designated places, plus dozens of
unincorporated rural communities, and it runs on Central Time. The land lies entirely on Choctaw
Nation reservation lands.

Towns & Villages in Atoka County

Atoka County has 7 named places with incorporated or CDP status: 1 city, 3 towns and 3
census-designated places. CDP stands for census designated place, an unincorporated community the
Census Bureau tracks as if it were a town; Unincorp. below covers rural crossroads communities
with no formal boundary or population count of their own.

Beyond these seven, dozens of unincorporated crossroads communities are scattered across the
county, most with no current population count or ZIP of their own: Bethany, Blackjack, Boehler,
Boggy Depot, Bruno, Burg, Centerpoint, Chockie, Cook, Crystal, Daisy, Dok, East Allison, East
Talico, Farris, Flora, Forrest Hill, Fugate, Goss, Grassy Lake, Half Bank Crossing, Harmony,
Hickory Hill, High Hill, Hopewell, Iron Stob, Limestone Gap, Lone Pine, Mayers Chapel, McGee
Valley, Mt. Carmel, Mt. Olive, New Hope, Nix, Old Farris, Patapoe, Payton Crossing, Pine Springs,
Plainview, Pleasant Hill, Redden, Reynolds, Rock Springs, Standing Rock, Star, Taloah, Valley
View, Voca, Wards Chapel, Webster, Wesley, West Allison and West Telico. Most are little more than
a church, a cemetery or a scattering of farms; Boggy Depot is the largest by history, covered
under History below.

ZIP Codes

• 74525 — Atoka (also serves Wardville)
• 74542 — Atoka (a separate post office box ZIP)
• 74569 — Stringtown
• 74533 — Caney

Tushka, Lane and Bentley have no separately confirmed ZIP of their own in the sources checked
for this page; mail addressed there generally routes through the nearest incorporated town’s
code rather than a dedicated one.

Geography

Atoka County sits in southeastern Oklahoma, where the flat prairie of the state’s
interior gives way to the western edge of the Ouachita Mountains along the county’s eastern
side. Of its 990 square miles, 976 are land and 14 are water, about 1.5 percent — most of it
Atoka Reservoir, a Red River-basin lake that supplies water to Atoka and several towns beyond the
county. North Boggy Creek, Clear Boggy Creek, Muddy Boggy Creek and McGee Creek all drain the
county south and east toward the Red River.

Pittsburg County lies to the north, Pushmataha County to the east, Choctaw County to the
southeast, Bryan County to the south, Johnston County to the west and Coal County to the
northwest. Pittsburg County, Pushmataha County, Choctaw County, Bryan County, Johnston County and Coal County all border Atoka directly.

Demographics

Atoka County had a population of 14,143 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 14,609 residents by 2025. Atoka and Stringtown are the two largest communities, the
county seat alone holding almost a quarter of the county’s population. Median household
income runs $54,785 as of 2024, well below Oklahoma’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of $62,138.
Population density works out to roughly 14.5 people per square mile of land, thin even by rural
Oklahoma standards.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 649 people,
followed by retail trade at 588 and construction at 582, out of roughly 5,344 people employed
countywide. The Mack H. Alford Correctional Center, a medium-security state prison in Stringtown
operated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and open since 1933, is one of the
county’s largest single employers. Coal mining, limestone quarrying, forestry and cattle
ranching shaped the county’s economy historically and still support smaller operations
today. In 2023, singer Reba McEntire partnered with the Choctaw Nation to open a restaurant in
downtown Atoka, drawing new visitor traffic to the county seat.

History

Atoka County was organized in 1907 at Oklahoma statehood, carved from land that had belonged
to the Choctaw Nation. It takes its name from Chief Atoka, a Choctaw leader; Atoka is also a
Choctaw word meaning “ball ground.” The Butterfield Overland Mail established a
stagecoach route through the area in 1858, and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway built a line
through the county in 1872, which the town of Atoka grew up alongside.

Boggy Depot, founded in 1837 by Choctaw and Chickasaw settlers, was once a major trading post
on the Texas Road and the Butterfield route, and its church building briefly served as the
temporary capitol of the Choctaw Nation in 1859. When the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway bypassed
the town by 12 miles after the Civil War, Boggy Depot declined while the new railroad town of
Atoka flourished in its place. The post office at Boggy Depot closed in 1934, and the site, now a
ghost town, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The Choctaw Nation
today manages it as Boggy Depot Park.

Getting There

U.S. Routes 69 and 75 cross the county through Atoka, along with State Highways 3, 7 and 43 and
the Indian Nation Turnpike.

• Dallas-Fort Worth — about 130 miles south-southwest
• Oklahoma City — about 137 miles northwest
• Tulsa — about 140 miles north

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the closest of the three, is the nearest major
commercial airport. Atoka Municipal Airport, a mile northwest of downtown Atoka with a
3,015-foot paved runway, handles general aviation. The county has no Amtrak service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Atoka County located?
It sits in southeastern Oklahoma, about 137 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, bordered by
Pittsburg, Pushmataha, Choctaw, Bryan, Johnston and Coal counties.

What is the population of Atoka County?
14,143 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 14,609.

How big is Atoka County?
990 square miles (2,600 km2), of which 976 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Atoka County?
Atoka, the county’s only incorporated city, is the county seat.

How many towns and villages are in Atoka County?
Seven named places carry incorporated or CDP status — Atoka, Stringtown, Tushka and Caney,
plus the census-designated places Lane, Wardville and Bentley — alongside dozens of smaller
unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Atoka County use?
74525 and 74542 for Atoka, 74569 for Stringtown and 74533 for Caney.

What is Atoka County known for?
The Choctaw Nation history behind its name, the former Boggy Depot trading post and temporary
Choctaw capitol, and the Mack H. Alford Correctional Center in Stringtown.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Oklahoma.