Unemployment in Okeechobee County, Florida, is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties
In Okeechobee County, 5.4% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 87% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Okeechobee County's score
In Okeechobee County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 77.8. Income and the safety net comes next, at 77.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Okeechobee County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Okeechobee County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.8 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202686th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.0% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
-
- 77.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.0% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.0% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability20.3% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance17.2% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,153 · 202460th percentile
-
- 72.1 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent22.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st percentile
-
- 69.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.1% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.1% · August 202563rd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.1% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
-
- 66.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.8% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people137.6 · 202554th percentile
-
Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Okeechobee County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Okeechobee County, 20.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Okeechobee County
Florida
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Okeechobee County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 34.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Okeechobee County, Florida, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 34.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Okeechobee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 14.8% in 2011 to 18.9% in 2012.
The share of households in Okeechobee County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.2% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Okeechobee County, Florida.
How Okeechobee County has changed
Okeechobee County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size, reaching 42,369, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 16,134. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Okeechobee County, Florida.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Okeechobee County rose by more than half to 12,437, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 12,437. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Okeechobee County, Florida.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.4% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.2% | 2024 17.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,400 | 2024 $63,153 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Okeechobee County's history
1917
Incorporated in 1917. Wikipedia
1928
Coca-Cola bottling plant closed after 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. Wikipedia
1972
A tornado in June 1972 killed six people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in September 1982 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A tornado in May 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
A tornado in March 1998 did $5.4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 39,996. The 2020 Census counted 39,644, 99% of the peak. Census Bureau
-
Since 1972
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Okeechobee County, 1 of them for flooding. FEMA
Okeechobee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Okeechobee County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Okeechobee County ranks 2nd of the seven; Highlands County is highest, at 41.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands County, FL | 94 | 15.5% | 41.2% |
| Osceola County, FL | 88 | 13.0% | 23.7% |
| Okeechobee County, FL | 87 | 17.0% | 34.1% |
| Glades County, FL | 86 | 17.2% | 31.0% |
| St. Lucie County, FL | 82 | 11.5% | 26.3% |
| Indian River County, FL | 57 | 9.2% | 16.5% |
| Martin County, FL | 45 | 8.6% | 13.6% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Okeechobee County the poorest county in Florida?
No, Okeechobee County's poverty rate was 17.0% in 2024, 23rd highest of 67 in Florida (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Hamilton County, at 25.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Okeechobee County ranks 19th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Okeechobee County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
-
Florida Rural Legal Services (FRLS)
Legal aid
-
HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Okeechobee County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Okeechobee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.