About two in five people with a credit file in Caddo County, Oklahoma, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Caddo County, 39.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Caddo County's score
In Caddo County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 86.8. People with a credit card behind: 8.9%, August 2025, higher than in 90% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 79.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Caddo 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.
Caddo County does better than most counties on two measures: adults 25 to 54 not working (10.5%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.8%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 86.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.9% · August 202590th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.5% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 79.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.9% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.3% · 202469th percentile
- People with a disability18.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- People without health insurance16.8% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$56,389 · 202479th percentile
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- 77.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector39.0% · August 202592nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people160.2 · 202563rd percentile
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- 29.0 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 rent12.8% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.5% · fiscal year 202736th percentile
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- 24.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202645th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working10.5% · 2020 to 20243rd 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 Caddo 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 Caddo County, 15.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Caddo County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Caddo County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 37% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Caddo County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Caddo County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 16.9% in 2012 to 14.7% in 2013.
The share of households in Caddo County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2012 and has since fallen to 15.4%
Low on the chart: 14.1% 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, Caddo County, Oklahoma.
How Caddo County has changed
Caddo County's population had its largest drop, from 33,475 in 1984 to 30,106 in 1989.
Caddo County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 33,475 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Caddo County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Caddo County rose 17% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 6,867. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Caddo County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.5% | 2024 18.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,645 | 2024 $56,389 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Caddo County's history
1901
Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho reservations allotted and surplus lands opened for settlement, 1901. Wikipedia
1901
Caddo County was organized on August 6, 1901, when the Federal Government allotted the Kiowa, Comanche, and Arapaho reservations and sold the surplus land to white settlers. Wikipedia
1911
First oil field (Cement Field) discovered 1911. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 50,779. The 2020 Census counted 26,945, 53% of the peak. Census Bureau
2000
A flash flood in October 2000 did $6 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in August 2007 killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
A flash flood in August 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A tornado in May 2009 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1982
42 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Caddo County, 24 of them for flooding. FEMA
Caddo County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Caddo County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Caddo County ranks 2nd of the eight; Kiowa County is highest, at 38.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comanche County, OK | 83 | 16.9% | 27.8% |
| Blaine County, OK | 74 | 18.1% | 27.8% |
| Kiowa County, OK | 73 | 22.2% | 38.4% |
| Caddo County, OK | 65 | 18.9% | 36.0% |
| Washita County, OK | 55 | 16.3% | 33.2% |
| Grady County, OK | 48 | 11.9% | 23.3% |
| Custer County, OK | 44 | 16.1% | 24.1% |
| Canadian County, OK | 40 | 6.9% | 17.2% |
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 Caddo County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Caddo County's poverty rate was 18.9% in 2024, 24th 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, Caddo County ranks 47th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Caddo 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 Caddo County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.