Short answer
The Oklahoma City metro had 3,772 construction establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 32,650 people with $2.08 billion in annual payroll, according to Census County Business Patterns. Oklahoma County had 1,991. General contractors don't need a state license in Oklahoma, but electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors are licensed by the Construction Industries Board, roofers register with it, and Oklahoma City requires trade and residential building contractors to register with the city.
- 3,772 construction establishments and 32,650 employees in the OKC metro in 2023, averaging 8.7 employees and $63,729 in pay.
- 340 commercial and institutional builders average 8.0 employees each, half the national average of 16.4.
- Plumbing and HVAC (641) and electrical (476) contractors are the largest trades; roofers number 229.
- The metro permitted 8,576 housing units in 2025, up from 7,707 in 2024.
- Oklahoma's Construction Industries Board says general contractors aren't required to hold a state license.
On this page
This page is for homeowners and businesses choosing a contractor in the Oklahoma City area, contractors and suppliers looking for partners, job seekers and B2B sellers working central Oklahoma. It uses the Census Bureau's counts and the licensing rules published by the state and the city.
Metro Oklahoma City in numbers
County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, construction sector (NAICS 23), Oklahoma City, OK Metro Area (CBSA 36420):
| Measure | OKC metro, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Construction establishments | 3,772 |
| Employees | 32,650 |
| Annual payroll | $2,080,736,000 |
| Average employees per establishment | 8.7 |
| Average annual pay | $63,729 |
| Share of US construction establishments | 0.46% (of 814,557) |
Both averages are below the national figures of 9.4 employees and $76,580 in pay. Oklahoma City's contractors are smaller and lower-paid than the US norm, which matters if you're pricing a product or a service per employee.
| County | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma County | 1,991 | 21,452 |
| Cleveland County | 673 | 5,445 |
| Canadian County | 476 | 2,275 |
| Logan County | 192 | 914 |
| Grady County | 184 | 1,086 |
| McClain County | 162 | 840 |
| Lincoln County | 94 | 638 |
Oklahoma County holds 52.8% of the metro's establishments and 65.7% of its construction jobs; Cleveland County is second.
Size
| Employees per establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 2,444 |
| 5 to 9 | 579 |
| 10 to 19 | 367 |
| 20 to 49 | 272 |
| 50 to 99 | 69 |
| 100 to 249 | 38 |
| 250 or more | Not published |
The Census Bureau withholds the counts for 250 to 499, 500 to 999 and 1,000 or more here. From the total, 41 establishments have 100 or more employees, so 3 have 250 or more. That leaves 3,390 (89.9%) with 1 to 19 employees and 341 with 20 to 99.
Limits of the count. CBP counts establishments (locations) with paid employees in mid-March 2023, not companies. Self-employed contractors with no payroll aren't included, and firms based in Tulsa or Texas that work on OKC projects are counted where they're based.
What they build
| Type of work (NAICS) | Establishments | Employees |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 2,547 | 21,280 |
| Plumbing, heating and air conditioning (238220) | 641 | 6,239 |
| Electrical (238210) | 476 | 4,589 |
| Roofing (238160) | 229 | 1,404 |
| Site preparation (238910) | 151 | 1,300 |
| Poured concrete foundation and structure (238110) | 144 | 1,233 |
| Building construction (236) | 977 | 5,402 |
| Commercial and institutional building (236220) | 340 | 2,729 |
| Residential remodelers (236118) | 320 | 1,185 |
| New single-family general contractors (236115) | 205 | 740 |
| Heavy and civil engineering (237) | 248 | 5,968 |
| Utility systems, including oil and gas pipelines (2371) | 139 | 3,603 |
| Highway, street and bridge (2373) | 52 | 2,182 |
Commercial builders are an unusually large share of the building contractors: 340 of 977, against about 15% nationally, and they average 8.0 employees. Heavy and civil firms average 24 employees, and the 26 oil and gas pipeline establishments employ 1,272 people. One small category, other heavy and civil construction (NAICS 2379, 10 establishments), has an employee figure the Census Bureau flags as high-noise, so it isn't reported here.
The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey shows 8,576 housing units authorized across the metro in 2025, up from 7,707 in 2024: 6,497 single-family homes, 745 in two- to four-unit buildings and 1,334 in buildings of five or more.
What Oklahoma and Oklahoma City license
The Construction Industries Board (CIB) states that "General contractors are not currently required to have a state license in Oklahoma for general contracting," and refers builders to local jurisdictions. What the state and city do require:
| Who | State requirement (CIB) | City of Oklahoma City |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical contractors | State license | Registration, $100 a year |
| Mechanical contractors | State license | Registration, $95 per category a year |
| Plumbing contractors | State license | Registration, $100 a year |
| Roofing contractors | State registration | Not listed among city registrations |
| Residential building contractors | None | Registration with $50,000 general liability and $100,000 workers' compensation per occurrence |
| Commercial general contractors | None | Not listed among city registrations |
| Fence, sidewalk, sign, insulation, house moving, boiler | None, except boilers (Oklahoma Department of Labor) | Registration, most with a bond of $1,000 to $5,000 |
Electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits in Oklahoma City can only be issued to contractors licensed by the state and registered with the city. Firms that want city public works contracts must also be prequalified through the city's Public Works department, and contractors on state highway work go through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation's prequalification under Oklahoma Administrative Code 730:25.
Vetting an OKC contractor
- For electrical, plumbing or HVAC work, search the contractor in CIB's licensee search and confirm the license is active.
- For a roof, check the CIB's registered roofing contractor search.
- For a home build or remodel, ask for the contractor's City of Oklahoma City registration and certificate of insurance, since there's no state license to check.
- For a commercial job, ask for recent comparable projects, the owners' contacts and proof of bonding capacity.
- Make sure the permit is pulled before work starts; the city requires it.
Prospecting OKC contractors
| Segment | Establishments | Who to reach |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical and electrical trades | 1,117 | Owner; service or operations manager at the larger firms |
| Roofers | 229 | Owner; sales manager at storm-restoration firms |
| Commercial builders | 340 | Owner, estimator and project managers |
| Civil and pipeline contractors | 248 | Operations, equipment and safety managers |
With no state general contractor license, the CIB licensee search is the best public list for the trades, and the city's registration is the closest thing to a list of residential builders.
Illustrative example. The company and its assumptions are invented; the establishment counts are from CBP 2023.
Red Dirt Fleet Upfit (reddirtupfit.example) outfits service vans with shelving and ladder racks. Its target is mechanical and electrical contractors with 5 or more employees. Of the 1,117 such trades in the metro, it assumes 45% (about 503) have five or more people and that each replaces two vans a year. Winning 12% of them at $3,800 a van is 60 customers and $456,000 a year. Knowing which shops are hiring technicians is the useful signal; Bebop researches each company on a list like this and drafts outreach to the owner.
Sources for names
| Source | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| CIB licensee search | Licensed electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors and inspectors |
| CIB registered roofing contractor search | Roofers registered with the state |
| OKC contractor registration | Which trades register with the city, and the requirements |
| OKC Development Services | Permits, inspections and the development center |
| ODOT contractor prequalification | How contractors qualify for state highway work |
| Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association | Homebuilders, remodelers and suppliers |
| Greater Oklahoma City Chamber | Member directory and regional economic data |
Next step: build your list with the construction companies industry guide, or see how a larger Southwest market works in the Texas construction companies report.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Building Permits Survey, annual CBSA data for 2024 and 2025, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Construction Industries Board, State of Oklahoma, accessed 30 October 2026
- Contractor Registration, City of Oklahoma City, accessed 30 October 2026
- Development Services, City of Oklahoma City, accessed 30 October 2026
- Contractor prequalification, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many construction companies are in Oklahoma City?
Census County Business Patterns counted 3,772 construction establishments with paid employees in the Oklahoma City metro in 2023, employing 32,650 people. Oklahoma County had 1,991 and Cleveland County 673. The count is of locations, not companies, and leaves out self-employed contractors with no employees, so the number of people offering construction work is higher.
Do you need a license to be a general contractor in Oklahoma?
No. Oklahoma's Construction Industries Board says general contractors aren't currently required to have a state license. The state does license electrical, mechanical and plumbing contractors, and roofers must register. Cities set their own rules: Oklahoma City requires residential building contractors and several trades to register, with insurance or a bond depending on the trade.
How do I check a contractor in Oklahoma City?
For electrical, plumbing and HVAC contractors, use the Construction Industries Board's licensee search; for roofers, its registered roofing contractor search. For a home builder, ask for the City of Oklahoma City contractor registration and a certificate of insurance. Make sure the permit is issued before work begins, since the city only issues trade permits to state-licensed, city-registered contractors.
How much do construction workers make in Oklahoma City?
Construction establishments in the Oklahoma City metro paid an average of $63,729 per employee in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns: $2.08 billion in payroll across 32,650 employees. That's below the US construction average of $76,580. It's an average across all construction jobs and firms, not a wage rate for a particular trade.