About one in five people in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, has a disability
In Cherokee County, 21.1% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 84% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 79% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cherokee County's score
In Cherokee County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 82.2. About one in six people (18.2%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 94% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 72.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cherokee 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.
Cherokee County does better than most counties on one measure: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (4.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 82.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.8% · 202479th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.1% · 202468th percentile
- People with a disability21.1% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- People without health insurance18.2% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,705 · 202483rd percentile
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- 72.0 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.1% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.9% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.1% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 67.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.9% · August 202578th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people139 · 202555th percentile
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- 63.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.8% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
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- 52.4 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 rent18.9% · 2020 to 202454th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.7% · fiscal year 202750th 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County, 17.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cherokee County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cherokee County had its largest rise, from 21.2% in 1999 to 25.5% in 2004.
In Cherokee County, benefit checks' share of income has nearly doubled since 1969, reaching 33.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Cherokee County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Cherokee County getting SNAP food aid rose to 16.5%, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2019 and 2020
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2020, reaching 15.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cherokee County, Oklahoma.
How Cherokee County has changed
Cherokee County's population doubled to 48,729, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 41,937. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cherokee County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Cherokee County had its largest rise in the last span, from 16,030 in 2020 to 18,652 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Cherokee County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 18,652, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 15,886. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cherokee County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.5% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.8% | 2024 17.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,478 | 2024 $54,705 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Cherokee County's history
1996
A flash flood in September 1996 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in June 1999 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2002
Lightning in July 2002 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 47,078, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2025
A thunderstorm in March 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
28 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cherokee County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cherokee County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cherokee County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cherokee County ranks 5th of the seven; Sequoyah County is highest, at 38.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adair County, OK | 95 | 22.4% | 38.5% |
| Muskogee County, OK | 94 | 19.6% | 36.8% |
| Sequoyah County, OK | 92 | 19.6% | 38.9% |
| Delaware County, OK | 84 | 18.3% | 35.9% |
| Cherokee County, OK | 79 | 17.8% | 33.2% |
| Mayes County, OK | 67 | 14.5% | 32.2% |
| Wagoner County, OK | 38 | 8.6% | 22.7% |
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 Cherokee County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Cherokee County's poverty rate was 17.8% in 2024, 32nd 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, Cherokee County ranks 26th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.