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is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 28,692 at the 2000 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Located on Interstate 40, Shawnee is just 30 minutes east of attractions of downtown Oklahoma City. To the east and northeast, the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System offers barge access to the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes region.
Shawnee has a sister city program with Nikaho in Akita, Japan. This is most likely due to the presence of a TDK plant in Shawnee. Every year junior high students from Shawnee visit Nikaho in July, and Japanese junior high students visit Shawnee in September.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.7 square miles (115.7 km²).About 42.3 square miles (109.5 km²) of it is land and 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²) of it (5.37%) is water.
Shawnee is the home of St. Gregory's University, a Benedictine Catholic institution founded in 1875, and Oklahoma Baptist University, founded in 1906. The city was chosen by the founders of OBU in part because two Baptist Conventions (one in Indian Territory and one in Oklahoma Territory) had earlier merged and the city of Shawnee was neutral territory. It is also one of Oklahoma City's biggest suburbs. Shawnee had been neither in Indian Territory nor Oklahoma Territory but the Potawatomi Nation.
The Heart of Oklahoma Exhibition Center, begun in 1981, now boasts of exhibit space, a indoor arena that seats 1,000, and an outdoor arena seating 7,500, and an RV park all on . Since 1993 the Center has been the host of the International Finals Youth Rodeo (IFYR), the "richest youth rodeo in the world" with a total prize payout of over $2.6 million; over 1,100 youth register for the event each year.
The Citizen Potawatomi nation, the ninth largest Native American tribe in the United States with 26,000 members, is headquartered between Shawnee and Tecumseh. Their Firelake Casino features over 125,000 sqaure feet of gaming space and employs 1800 people.
Shawnee Regional Airport has a 6000' asphalt lighted runway with services available seven days a week.
Shawnee is also home of the Shawnee Millers, a local semi-professional football team. Shawnee competes in the Oklahoma Metro Football League. Shawnee's first season was 2008 where the franchise went 3-5 and was OMFL State Semi-Finalist.