Welcome to McAlester ...
The city of McAlester is located in Pittsburg County<1> (at the time of its founding, McAlester was located in Indian Territory) and is the County Seat for Pittsburg County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of McAlester, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was on a map dated 1911.
When the people of McAlester refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use McAlesterite<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, McAlester has a population of 17,839 people<3> (see below for details).
McAlester is 710 feet [216 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: McAlester lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for McAlester: (918) and (539)<5>
The ZIP code for McAlester: 74501<6>
Websites for McAlester ...
Official Website: www.cityofmcalester.com/
Chamber of Commerce: www.mcalester.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, McAlester had an population of 17,839 people. This is a decrease of 2.96% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 0.31% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, McAlester had a population of 18,383 people (which is 40.11% of the total population of Pittsburg County). This makes McAlester the county's most populous community.
The population of McAlester represents 0.49% of the population of Oklahoma (which has 3,751,351 people), making it the state's 26th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 18,383 people, the population of McAlester increased 3.37% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 17,783 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for McAlester.
Communities near McAlester ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near McAlester.
- Hartshorne
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartshorne
- Hartshorne is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,945 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartshorne <7>
- Haileyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haileyville
- Haileyville is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 746 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haileyville <7>
- Kiowa
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiowa
- Kiowa is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiowa <7>
- Savanna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savanna
- Savanna is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 649 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Savanna <7>
- Crowder
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crowder have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowder
- Crowder is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crowder <7>
- Canadian
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canadian have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadian
- Canadian is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canadian <7>
- Pittsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Pittsburg is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pittsburg <7>
- Stuart
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuart
- Stuart is located in Hughes County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stuart <7>
- Indianola
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indianola have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indianola
- Indianola is located in Pittsburg County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indianola <7>
- Hanna
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanna have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanna
- Hanna is located in McIntosh County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hanna <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around McAlester. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for McAlester.
We have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around McAlester. Our list includes 20 papers. See our Newspapers Page for McAlester.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for McAlester ...
Looking for more information about McAlester? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for McAlester, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for McAlester.
Adding McAlester to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of McAlester in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for McAlester was on a map titled Map of Oklahoma (from Rand McNally, 1911).
We also found McAlester on a map titled George#&160;F. Cram Map (1922).
For more details, see References and Mentions for McAlester.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for McAlester: www.cityofmcalester.com/
The official website for State of Oklahoma: https://www.ok.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Oklahoma's counties, including Pittsburg, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of McAlester refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of McAlester may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for McAlester. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around McAlester - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (539) is an overlay for area code (918). |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as McAlester). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether McAlester or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |