About two in five people with a credit file in Bryan County, Oklahoma, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Bryan County, 37.6% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
What drives Bryan County's score
In Bryan County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 86.6. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 69.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Bryan 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.
Bryan County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.5%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.9%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.0% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.6% · August 202579th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.3% · second quarter of 202689th percentile
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- 69.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.6% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people124.6 · 202549th percentile
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- 68.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.2% · 202458th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.9% · 202448th percentile
- People with a disability18.6% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance18.7% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,458 · 202469th percentile
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- 61.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.1% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
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- 38.0 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 rent15.5% · 2020 to 202434th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.9% · fiscal year 202741st 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 Bryan 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 Bryan County, 17.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Bryan County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Bryan County, benefit checks' share of income has risen by more than half since 1969, reaching 29.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Bryan County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income rose by more than half from 1969 to 2024, reaching 29.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Bryan County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 13.6% in 2018 to 11.6% in 2019.
The share of households in Bryan County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 13.5%
High on the chart: 14.5% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Bryan County, Oklahoma.
How Bryan County has changed
Bryan County's population doubled to 50,305, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 50,305. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Bryan County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Bryan County more than doubled to 21,978, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 19,541. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Bryan County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.6% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.7% | 2024 14.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,309 | 2024 $60,458 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Bryan County's history
1895
Fire destroyed original Durant business district along Katy tracks 1895. Wikipedia
1907
Officially established November 16, 1907. Wikipedia
1919
Tornado killed eleven people in Durant, April 1919. Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in April 1957 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A thunderstorm in May 1994 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
Lightning in April 2003 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A tornado in April 2019 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 46,067, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1972
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Bryan County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Bryan County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Bryan County, in Oklahoma and Texas, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Bryan County ranks 6th of the eight; Choctaw County is highest, at 41.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choctaw County, OK | 89 | 26.4% | 41.6% |
| Johnston County, OK | 83 | 21.5% | 34.8% |
| Lamar County, TX | 82 | 17.2% | 31.3% |
| Atoka County, OK | 80 | 19.5% | 36.4% |
| Bryan County, OK | 75 | 14.2% | 29.9% |
| Grayson County, TX | 70 | 11.0% | 24.4% |
| Fannin County, TX | 66 | 12.8% | 28.9% |
| Marshall County, OK | 65 | 14.6% | 32.7% |
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 Bryan County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Bryan County's poverty rate was 14.2% in 2024, 56th 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, Bryan County ranks 35th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Bryan 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.
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 Bryan County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.