Driven by new retail, Chickasha sees trade area growth

The Chickasha Economic Development Council (EDC) staff has updated its estimated trade area for Chickasha based on more current market information.

In 2022, the EDC first released materials promoting Chickasha’s trade area, with a population of approximately 89,000. This trade area was based on mobile analytics via Placer Labs, which showed consistent traffic to multiple local businesses from as far as 30 miles away. The 2022 trade area included Blanchard, Minco, Tuttle, Anadarko, Cyril, Rush Springs, and Marlow. The population was estimated based on Census data from the American Community Survey (ACS) V2019.

The new trade area update is based on mobile analytics for 10 of Chickasha’s top retail locations and restaurants in the calendar year 2024, and population estimates were taken from ACS V2023. In that time frame, population growth in the Tuttle-Bridge Creek-Blanchard area was largely offset by population decline in rural areas to the south and west, particularly in Anadarko. Thus, the population within a certain radius of Chickasha remained largely the same between reports.

However, Chickasha has successfully grown its market geographically. Since 2022, the addition of major retail chains such as Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A attracted more visits from the Duncan area, which, while larger than Chickasha, does not have those chains. Other, more distant rural areas, such as Lindsay and Carnegie, appeared on trade area maps of nearly all 10 retailers measured, suggesting that Chickasha has become an important shopping center for those communities.

The addition of the aforementioned communities increases the estimated trade area population to over 120,000, based on ACS V2023 estimates for the selected ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs).

Growing Chickasha’s trade area is important as it creates a wider sales tax base to support critical infrastructure and services in the city. It also positively impacts our potential workforce, paving the way for the addition and expansion of other industries.

For more information about Chickasha’s trade area and how it is calculated, contact Research Analyst Matt Brooks.