Creek County, Oklahoma

Creek County is a county in Oklahoma, United States, part of the Tulsa metropolitan area southwest of the city. It had a population of 71,754 at the 2020 census and covers 970 square miles (2,500 km2), of which 950 square miles is land and 20 square miles is water, centred near 35°54′N 96°22′W.

Sapulpa is the county seat, and its postal code is 74066. The county has 5 incorporated cities, 7 incorporated towns, and a scatter of unincorporated communities and former oil-boom camps. Creek County observes Central Time and carries the FIPS code 40037.

Towns & Villages in Creek County

Creek County’s populated places range from Sapulpa, a satellite city on Tulsa’s edge, to a string of unincorporated communities that trace back to the county’s oil boom of the 1910s. Cities and towns are legally incorporated; CDPs (Census Designated Places) have no local government; “Unincorp.” marks a named community or former settlement with no incorporation and often no current census count.

Sapulpa’s city limits reach into neighboring Tulsa County, and Drumright’s reach into Payne County — both are counted here at their primary, Creek County-based address.

ZIP Codes

• 74066 / 74067 — Sapulpa
• 74010 — Bristow
• 74044 — Mannford
• 74039 — Kellyville (also serves Slick-area rural routes)
• 74030 — Drumright
• 74041 — Kiefer
• 74047 — Mounds
• 74052 — Oilton
• 74028 — Depew
• 74068 — Shamrock
• 74071 — Slick
• 74046 — Milfay

Smaller unincorporated communities such as Bowden, Gypsy, Hilton, and the county’s other former oil camps share the ZIP code of their nearest post-office town rather than having their own.

Geography

Creek County sits in the Cimarron Hills country between the Arkansas and Deep Fork rivers, in the northeast-central part of the state. Its terrain runs from rolling prairie in the west to wooded, broken hills toward Tulsa County in the east; the Arkansas River forms part of the northern boundary and Keystone Lake backs up along the Pawnee County line.

Creek County borders Pawnee County to the north, Tulsa County to the east, Okmulgee County to the southeast, Okfuskee County to the south, Lincoln County to the west, and Payne County to the northwest.

Demographics

Creek County’s 2020 population of 71,754 works out to roughly 75 people per square mile. Sapulpa (20,544) and Bristow (4,271) are the two largest communities, together holding more than a third of the county’s residents. Median household income in the county runs below the Oklahoma median of $62,138, reflecting the county’s rural and small-town employment base outside the Sapulpa-Tulsa commuter corridor.

Economy & Local Life

Oil and gas remain part of the local economy — Creek County was the site of the Cushing-Drumright field, one of the largest oil discoveries in the state’s early history — alongside manufacturing and warehousing drawn by Sapulpa’s position on I-44 and the Tulsa metro’s outer edge. Agriculture, mainly cattle and hay, continues around Bristow, Mannford, and Kellyville. Sapulpa’s historic Route 66 downtown and the Frankoma Pottery legacy (the plant operated in Sapulpa for decades) still draw regional visitors, and Keystone Lake near Mannford is a summer recreation draw for boating and fishing.

History

Creek County was organized at Oklahoma statehood in 1907, formed from the western part of the former Creek Nation and named for it. The 1912 discovery of the Cushing-Drumright oil field, one of the richest strikes of the era, brought a rapid wave of boom towns and camps across the county — several of the small unincorporated places on today’s map, including Milfay, Olive, and Ritts Junction, began as oil-field camps in this period. Sapulpa itself grew as a rail junction and Creek Nation trading town before statehood.

Getting There

Interstate 44 (the Turner Turnpike/Will Rogers Turnpike corridor) crosses the county through Sapulpa, and State Highways 16, 33, 48, 51, 66, 99, and 117 connect the smaller towns. Historic U.S. Route 66 runs through Sapulpa and Kellyville.

• Tulsa — 16 miles east
• Bristow — 22 miles south of Sapulpa
• Stillwater — 30 miles north
• Oklahoma City — 85 miles southwest

Tulsa International Airport, about 20 miles northeast of Sapulpa, is the nearest commercial airport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Creek County, Oklahoma?
It lies in northeast-central Oklahoma, just southwest of Tulsa, centred near 35°54′N 96°22′W.

What is the population of Creek County?
71,754 people at the 2020 census.

How big is Creek County?
970 square miles (2,500 km2) total, of which 950 square miles is land.

What is the county seat of Creek County?
Sapulpa is the county seat.

How many towns and cities are in Creek County?
Five incorporated cities and seven incorporated towns, plus a number of unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes are in Creek County?
Sapulpa’s ZIPs are 74066 and 74067, with Bristow at 74010, Mannford at 74044, Kellyville at 74039, Drumright at 74030, and smaller ZIPs at Kiefer, Mounds, Oilton, Depew, Shamrock, Slick, and Milfay.

What was the Cushing-Drumright oil field?
A major 1912 oil discovery centred on Drumright that briefly made Creek County one of the largest oil-producing areas in the country, spawning several of the county’s small unincorporated communities.

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