Comanche County, Oklahoma

Comanche County is a county in Oklahoma, United States, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma
City. It had a population of 121,125 at the 2020 census, an estimated 122,158 by 2025, and covers
1,069 square miles (2,770 km2) of land centred near 34°40′N 98°28′W.

Lawton is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 73501. The
county holds 3 cities, 7 incorporated towns, 4 census-designated lake communities and 3
unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 40031.

Towns & Villages in Comanche County

Comanche County has 17 named places on record: 10 incorporated cities and towns, 4
census-designated places (CDPs) built up along Lake Ellsworth and Lake Lawtonka, and 3
unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census
designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads communities with no formal boundary.

Chattanooga sits on the Comanche–Tillman county line; the 400-resident population figure
above is citywide, and the bulk of the town lies in Comanche County. Lawton’s ZIP range
73501–73507 covers the city and the Fort Sill post exchange area jointly.

Geography

Comanche County straddles the boundary between Oklahoma’s southern plains and the granite
peaks of the Wichita Mountains, which rise across the county’s northwest corner. Of its 1,084
square miles, 1,069 are land and 14 are water, about 1.3 percent, held mostly in two reservoirs:
Lake Ellsworth in the north and Lake Lawtonka northwest of Lawton, both ringed by the CDPs in the
table above. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge covers 59,020 acres of the county’s
northwest corner, protecting mixed-grass prairie, granite outcrops up to 2,464 feet at Mount
Scott, and a bison herd reintroduced from the Bronx Zoo in 1907.

Kiowa County lies to the northwest, Caddo County to the north, Grady County to the northeast,
Stephens County to the southeast, Cotton County to the south, and Tillman County to the
southwest. Kiowa County, Caddo County, Grady County, Stephens County, Cotton County and Tillman County all border Comanche
directly.

Demographics

Comanche County had a population of 121,125 at the 2020 census, the fifth-highest count of any
Oklahoma county, and a 2025 estimate puts it near 122,158. Lawton and Elgin are the two largest
communities, with Lawton alone holding roughly three-quarters of the county total. Median
household income runs $60,761 as of 2024, below Oklahoma’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of
$62,138. Population density works out to about 113 people per square mile of land, high for
southwestern Oklahoma and driven almost entirely by Lawton and the Fort Sill population it
adjoins.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 8,097 people,
followed by retail trade at 4,982 and educational services at 4,546. Fort Sill, the US Army’s
Field Artillery School headquarters on the county’s north side, is the largest single
employer, with more than 5,000 full-time personnel and civilian staff. Goodyear Tire and Rubber
runs a plant in Lawton employing about 2,400 people, and Cameron University, also in Lawton,
enrolled nearly 3,700 students in 2024. In 2025, Firehawk Aerospace announced a $22 million rocket
fuel production facility in Lawton. Meers, in the county’s northwest corner, is home to the
Meers Store, a former gold-mining boomtown building now known for its burgers. The county’s
biggest annual event is the Prince of Peace Easter Pageant at the Holy City of the Wichitas, a
granite amphitheater in the Wichita Mountains that has staged the passion play every spring since
1926.

History

Comanche County was organized on 8 July 1901, when the former Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation
opened to non-Native settlement by land lottery; about 29,000 homesteaders registered at Fort Sill
for a chance at a claim. The county is named for the Comanche Nation, whose reservation the land
had been. Fort Sill itself predates the county by more than three decades, staked out in January
1869 by Major General Philip Sheridan during the Army’s campaigns against Plains tribes in
Indian Territory; the post still covers almost 94,000 acres north of Lawton. Medicine Park, in the
county’s northwest, was founded in 1908 by future US Senator Elmer Thomas as a resort town
built of red granite cobblestone, and its original buildings still stand.

Getting There

Interstate 44, the H.E. Bailey Turnpike, crosses the county through Lawton. US 62, US 277 and US
281 also run through the county.

• Oklahoma City — about 85 miles northeast
• Chickasha — about 47 miles northeast
• Duncan — about 30 miles east

Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport, on the city’s east side, is the county’s only
commercial airport; Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City is the nearest major hub, roughly
85 miles away. No Amtrak route serves Comanche County — the closest Heartland Flyer stop is
in Oklahoma City, about 85 miles northeast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Comanche County located?
It sits in southwestern Oklahoma, about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, bordered by Kiowa,
Caddo, Grady, Stephens, Cotton and Tillman counties.

What is the population of Comanche County?
121,125 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 122,158.

How big is Comanche County?
1,084 square miles (2,810 km2) in total, of which 1,069 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Comanche County?
Lawton, organized alongside the county in 1901, is the county seat and by far its largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Comanche County?
Ten incorporated places — Lawton, Elgin, Cache, Fletcher, Geronimo, Sterling, Medicine Park,
Chattanooga, Indiahoma and Faxon — plus four census-designated lake communities and three
unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Comanche County use?
73501 through 73507 for Lawton, plus 73527 for Cache, 73528 for Chattanooga, 73538 for Elgin,
73540 for Faxon, 73541 for Fletcher, 73543 for Geronimo, 73552 for Indiahoma, 73557 for Medicine
Park and 73567 for Sterling.

What is Comanche County known for?
Fort Sill’s Field Artillery School, the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and its bison herd,
and the Meers Store’s burgers.

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