Altus () is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,729 at the 2020 census.
Altus is home to Altus Air Force Base, the United States Air Force training base for C-17, KC-46 and KC-135 aircrews. It is also home to Western Oklahoma State College and Southwest Technology Center.
History
The town that would later be named Altus was founded in 1886. The community was originally called "Frazer", a settlement of about 50 people on Bitter Creek that served as a trading post on the Great Western Cattle Trail. Cowboys driving herds northward often stopped to buy buttermilk from John McClearan. Thus, the town was known locally as "Buttermilk Station". The Frazer post office opened February 18, 1886. A flash flood nearly destroyed Frazer on June 4, 1891. The residents moved to higher ground east of the original site. W. R. Baucum suggested renaming the town "Altus", a Latin word meaning "high". This name stuck, although the town was also known as "Leger" from July 10, 1901, to May 14, 1904.
The population doubled between the time of Oklahoma statehood and the 1910 census and even increased during the Great Depression. The city lies between the main channel and North Fork of the Red River.
Climate
Altus has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) bordering upon a semi-arid climate (BSk). Summers are very hot to sweltering, though occasionally heavy rainfall does occur due to remains of Gulf of Mexico hurricanes moving inland. A record high of was recorded twice in 1936.
Autumn is brief, with generally very warm afternoons and comfortably cool mornings, while winter is extremely variable. Chinook winds can sometimes raise temperatures to uncomfortably hot even in the low winter sun, in the process often drying out vegetation to produce wildfires. On the other hand, if a block forms over the Gulf of Alaska very cold air can be driven into the Plains States from Canada, producing temperatures below in extreme cases. Such cold temperatures on average occur once every three winters, although on average 78.5 mornings each year fall to or below the freezing point. Snowfall is rare and erratic: the most in a months being in January 1966, while most rainfall comes during the unsettled spring season, when heavy thunderstorms can occur from the convergence of hot and cold air masses to produce very intense short-period rainfall. The wettest month has been May 1980 with , whilst zero precipitation has on occasion been recorded in every month except May and June, and the wettest 24 hour period on October 20, 1983, with . The wettest calendar year has been 1941 with and the driest 1970 with .
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Altus had a population of 18,729. The median age was 33.7 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.5 males age 18 and over.
There were 7,391 households in Altus, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.8% were married-couple households, 22.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Percent
|-
| White || 62.1%
|-
| Black or African American || 8.8%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 1.9%
|-
| Asian || 1.7%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0.4%
|-
| Some other race || 11.3%
|-
| Two or more races || 13.8%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 27.0%
|}
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 19,813 people living in the city.
Commercial air transportation is available at the Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport, about 57 miles to the east.
The Wichita, Tillman and Jackson Railway provides rail freight service.
Points of interest
- Lake Altus-Lugert, about to the north
- Great Plains State Park, on Tom Steed Reservoir, about east-northeast.
- Morgan Doll Museum
- Altus Air Force Base
Education
The public schools of Altus are in Oklahoma School District number 18. In the Altus Public School District there are nine schools, including five elementary schools, an intermediate school, a junior high school, a high school, and a learning center. For the 2011–2012 school year there were approximately 3,851 students.
Western Oklahoma State College and Southwest Technology Center provide opportunities for higher education in the area.