After adding over 1,076,000 new cases throughout the last week, the U.S. now has more than 41.2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 650,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country.
New cases continue to rise at a steady rate. In the past week, there were an average of 49.5 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans — essentially unchanged from the week prior, when there were an average of 45.4 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.
While COVID-19 has spread to nearly every part of the country, cities continue to be the sites of major outbreaks. Experts agree that the virus is more likely to spread in group settings where large numbers of people routinely have close contact with one another, such as colleges, nursing homes, bars, and restaurants. Metropolitan areas with a high degree of connectivity between neighborhoods and a large population may be particularly at-risk.
The Oklahoma City, OK, metro area consists of Oklahoma County, Cleveland County, Canadian County, and four other counties. In the past week, there were an average of 62.9 new coronavirus cases every day per 100,000 Oklahoma City residents, greater than the national figure. The metro area’s average daily case growth in the most recent week is essentially unchanged from the week prior, when there was an average of 65.0 daily new cases per 100,000 Oklahoma City residents.
The spread of coronavirus depends on a variety of factors and can vary even between neighboring counties. Within the Oklahoma City metro area, COVID-19 is growing the fastest in McClain County. There were an average of 78.6 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in McClain County during the past week, the most of the seven counties in Oklahoma City with available data.
Case growth in the Oklahoma City metro area is relatively uniform at the county level. In Canadian County, for example, there were an average of 57.4 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the past week — the least of any county in Oklahoma City yet relatively in line with the case growth rate in McClain County.
Just as McClain County is driving the growth of COVID-19 in the Oklahoma City area, it also has the highest incidence of cases overall. As of September 16, there were a total of 17,206.4 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents in McClain County, the most of the seven counties in the metro area. For comparison, the U.S. has so far reported 12,697.8 cases per 100,000 Americans nationwide.
In order to slow the spread of COVID-19, city and county governments have ordered the closure of thousands of consumer-facing businesses. These measures have led to widespread job loss and record unemployment. In McClain County, unemployment peaked at 13.2% in April 2020. As of June 2021, the county’s unemployment rate was 2.9%.
To determine the county in every metropolitan area where COVID-19 is growing the fastest, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked counties according to the average number of new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the seven days ending September 16. To estimate the incidence of COVID-19 at the metropolitan level, we aggregated data up from the county level using boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates. Unemployment data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is not seasonally adjusted.
| Rank in MSA | County | Population | New daily cases per 100,000, week ending September. 16 | New daily cases per 100,000, week ending September. 9 | Cumulative cases per 100,000 | Cumulative deaths per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McClain County | 39,247 | 78.6 | 93.9 | 17,206.4 | 211.5 |
| 2 | Cleveland County | 279,274 | 69.6 | 68.4 | 13,782.2 | 169.7 |
| 3 | Lincoln County | 34,895 | 67.5 | 75.7 | 12,127.8 | 237.9 |
| 4 | Oklahoma County | 787,216 | 61.1 | 63.6 | 13,536.8 | 178.0 |
| 5 | Grady County | 55,071 | 58.6 | 65.9 | 13,161.2 | 250.6 |
| 6 | Logan County | 46,683 | 57.8 | 66.4 | 11,374.6 | 160.7 |
| 7 | Canadian County | 140,455 | 57.4 | 54.9 | 14,786.2 | 144.5 |
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