49,135 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.3% since 2020)
822 square miles of land · 60 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
8 active community water systems list Carter County in the area they serve, reporting 47,657 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ARDMORE surface water · local government · OK1010814 | 24,893 served |
| SOUTHERN OKLA WATER CORP surface water · local government · OK1010830 | 11,250 served |
| LONE GROVE groundwater · local government · OK2001007 | 4,863 served |
| HEALDTON surface water · local government · OK1011102 | 2,785 served |
| WESTERN CARTER CO WATER CORP buys surface water · local government · OK2001003 | 2,000 served |
| WILSON MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY groundwater · local government · OK2001001 | 1,600 served |
| GOLDEN OAKS HOME OWNERS ASSN groundwater · private · OK2001032 | 135 served |
| RATLIFF CITY groundwater · local government · OK3001004 | 131 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 113 people were held in Carter County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 372 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 180.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
9 school districts have their office in Carter County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $38.4 million — $29.8 million to run schools, about $11,491 per student, plus $7.8 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $21.4 million local (mostly property tax), $13.1 million state, $5.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $11.4 million.
Spent $19.5 million — $16 million to run schools, about $10,301 per student, plus $3.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10.3 million local (mostly property tax), $8 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $5.2 million.
Spent $15.9 million — $13.3 million to run schools, about $9,174 per student, plus $2.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.8 million local (mostly property tax), $9.4 million state, $2.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.8 million.
Spent $17.1 million — $15.1 million to run schools, about $10,987 per student, plus $1.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $6.5 million local (mostly property tax), $8.3 million state, $2.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $3.5 million.
Spent $6.2 million — $5.6 million to run schools, about $11,381 per student, plus $529,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $3.2 million state, $939,000 federal. Long-term debt: $2.5 million.
Spent $6.5 million — $5.1 million to run schools, about $10,729 per student, plus $1.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.6 million local (mostly property tax), $3 million state, $578,000 federal. Long-term debt: $560,000.
Spent $3.5 million — $3.3 million to run schools, about $11,982 per student, plus $280,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $863,000 local (mostly property tax), $1.8 million state, $1.4 million federal.
Spent $4 million — $3.3 million to run schools, about $13,906 per student, plus $676,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $791,000 state, $853,000 federal. Long-term debt: $1.9 million.
And 1 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Carter County about $28 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Moderate; social vulnerability: Relatively High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
337 bridges in Carter County: 124 in good condition, 197 fair, and 16 poor (4.7%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| 1054C over CREEK · built 1941 | 1,062 vehicles a day |
| 1002C over SANDY BEAR CREEK · built 1987 | 442 vehicles a day |
| E1980 over CREEK · built 1998 | 250 vehicles a day |
| N3250 over CREEK · built 1985 | 200 vehicles a day |
| N3160 over COTTONWOOD CREEK · built 1938 | 100 vehicles a day |
| E1805 over CREEK · built 1988 | 100 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $23.4 million of work in Carter County in fiscal 2025, about $488 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Oklahoma are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Carter County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Carter County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Oklahoma: the state government and every county in Oklahoma.
Nearby counties: Murray County (20 mi) · Love County (20 mi) · Garvin County (32 mi) · Jefferson County (33 mi) · Marshall County (33 mi) · Stephens County (36 mi).