In Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Alfalfa County, 17.4% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Alfalfa County's score
In Alfalfa County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 71.7. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 19.5.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Alfalfa 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.
Even so, Alfalfa County is worse off than most counties on people with a credit card behind (11.4%, August 2025) and people below the poverty line (18.1%, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.7 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.4% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score40.7% · second quarter of 202651st percentile
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- 67.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.1% · 202480th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.4% · 202457th percentile
- People with a disability17.9% · 2020 to 202467th percentile
- People without health insurance10.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,241 · 202460th percentile
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- 32.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.9% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
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- 30.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.6% · August 202555th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people35.3 · 20255th or lower percentile
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- 19.5 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 rent13.1% · 2020 to 202422nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.4% · fiscal year 202716th percentile
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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 Alfalfa 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 Alfalfa County, 20.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Alfalfa County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Alfalfa County fell most sharply after its 2009 high, from 26.4% in 2009 to 13.3% in 2014.
In Alfalfa County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 26.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 26.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Alfalfa County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply after its 2021 high, from 10.1% in 2021 to 8.0% in 2022.
The share of households in Alfalfa County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.4%
High on the chart: 10.1% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Alfalfa County, Oklahoma.
How Alfalfa County has changed
Alfalfa County's population had its largest drop, from 7,928 in 1969 to 7,021 in 1974.
Alfalfa County's population fell by about a quarter from 1969 to 2024, reaching 5,712
High on the chart: 7,928 in 1969. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Alfalfa County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Alfalfa County had its largest rise, from 1,208 in 2010 to 1,656 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Alfalfa County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a third
High on the chart: 1,656 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Alfalfa County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.0% | 2025 2.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 14.2% | 2024 18.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,662 | 2024 $63,241 |
The table uses 2.5% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Alfalfa County's history
1907
Formed at statehood in 1907 from Woods County. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 18,138. The 2020 Census counted 5,699, 31% of the peak. Census Bureau
1937
Works Progress Administration (WPA) built National Guard Armory and public library, 1937-1939. Wikipedia
2008
A flash flood in September 2008 did $1.8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Alfalfa County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Alfalfa County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Alfalfa County, in Oklahoma and Kansas, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Alfalfa County ranks 2nd of the seven; Barber County is highest, at 30.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield County, OK | 52 | 12.8% | 25.6% |
| Harper County, KS | 49 | 13.6% | 25.0% |
| Grant County, OK | 46 | 15.1% | 25.4% |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 40 | 18.1% | 26.0% |
| Woods County, OK | 34 | 14.9% | 24.1% |
| Major County, OK | 27 | 12.5% | 25.3% |
| Barber County, KS | 7 | 10.0% | 30.3% |
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 Alfalfa County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Alfalfa County's poverty rate was 18.1% in 2024, 30th highest of 77 in Oklahoma (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Choctaw County, at 26.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Alfalfa County ranks 68th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Alfalfa 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.
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Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma
Legal aid
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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 Alfalfa 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 Alfalfa County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.