County Maps US

Cherokee County, Oklahoma

A county in Oklahoma, ranked 19 of 77 by population.

CountyFIPS 40021

Within Oklahoma
Cherokee County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Tahlequah, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
49,196
+2,111 (+4.5%) since 2020
Land area
749.1
square miles. A further 3.5% of the total area is water
Population density
65.7
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Tahlequah
Seat of county government.
Established
1907
118 years ago
Largest city
Tahlequah city
Population 17,508.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Cherokee County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Cherokee County, Oklahoma from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 623 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Cherokee County ranks

Position among the 77 counties of Oklahoma, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn OklahomaNationally
Population49,19619th of 771,023rd of 3,144
Land area749.1 sq mi45th of 771,177th of 3,144
Population density65.7 per sq mi15th of 771,232nd of 3,144
Median household income$53,21856th of 772,582nd of 3,143

Full data for Cherokee County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population49,196Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202047,085Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?47,071Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area749.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area26.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area776 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?65.7 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$53,218American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$168,500American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age37.3American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households18,698American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units22,363American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-15
549 births, 564 deaths
Net migration
+445
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering Cherokee County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Adair CountyOklahoma37 mi19,828
Wagoner CountyOklahoma24 mi93,263
Muskogee CountyOklahoma20 mi66,708
Sequoyah CountyOklahoma18 mi40,842
Mayes CountyOklahoma17 mi40,416
Delaware CountyOklahoma12 mi41,910

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 77 counties of Oklahoma

Open the interactive Oklahoma county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.