In Cleveland County, Oklahoma, benefit checks make up only 20 cents of every dollar of income
In Cleveland County, 19.9% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cleveland County's score
In Cleveland County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 64.2. Jobs are the lowest part, at 37.5. Unemployment averaged 3.7%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, lower than in 63% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cleveland 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.
Cleveland County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 64.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.2% · August 202561st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people170.7 · 202567th percentile
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- 52.2 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 rent21.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income19.3% · fiscal year 202734th percentile
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- 44.2 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.9% · August 202540th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.8% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.5% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 39.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.0% · 202440th percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.8% · 202426th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$78,643 · 202422nd percentile
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- 37.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202636th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.8% · 2020 to 202438th 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 Cleveland 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 Cleveland County, 14.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cleveland County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cleveland County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 19.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Cleveland County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cleveland County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 7.9% in 2011 to 9.7% in 2013, 0.9 points each year.
The share of households in Cleveland County getting SNAP food aid rose from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9.9%
High on the chart: 10.1% in 2014. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
How Cleveland County has changed
Cleveland County's population had its largest rise, from 127,432 in 1979 to 162,174 in 1984.
Cleveland County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 303,952, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 171,753. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Cleveland County had its largest rise, from 50,620 in 1995 to 60,196 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Cleveland County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 91,969, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 82,947. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.1% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 8.8% | 2024 12.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $30,203 | 2024 $78,643 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.7% 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 Cleveland County's history
1890
After the passage of the Organic Act in 1890, Cleveland County was organized as County 3 and Norman became the county seat. Wikipedia
1999
A tornado in May 1999 did $450 million in property damage and killed 11 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $210 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in May 2013 did $2 billion in property damage and killed 24 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 295,528, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2023
A tornado in February 2023 did $50 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
38 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cleveland County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cleveland County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Cleveland County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Cleveland County ranks 3rd of the five; Pottawatomie County is highest, at 29.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pottawatomie County, OK | 85 | 16.9% | 29.8% |
| Oklahoma County, OK | 78 | 16.2% | 16.5% |
| Cleveland County, OK | 45 | 12.0% | 19.9% |
| McClain County, OK | 40 | 8.9% | 21.6% |
| 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 Cleveland County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Cleveland County's poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 69th 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, Cleveland County ranks 61st of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cleveland 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 Cleveland 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 Cleveland County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.