About one in four people in Coal County, Oklahoma, has a disability
In Coal County, 22.6% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Coal County's score
In Coal County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 87.8. About one in five people (22.4%, 2020 to 2024) has no health insurance, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 84.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Coal 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.
Coal County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a credit card behind (2.5%, August 2025) and people with a car or retail loan behind (3.4%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 87.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.6% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line24.4% · 202480th percentile
- People with a disability22.6% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance22.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,771 · 202490th percentile
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- 84.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202682nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.4% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 46.8 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 rent15.4% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.7% · fiscal year 202759th percentile
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- 39.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind2.5% · August 20256th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.4% · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score55.8% · second quarter of 202690th percentile
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- 38.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector24.3% · August 202554th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people76 · 202522nd 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 Coal 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 Coal County, 20.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Coal County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Coal County, benefit checks' share of income has grown since 1969, reaching 33.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Coal County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income rose from 1969 to 2024, reaching 33.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Coal County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 10.1% in 2010 to 13.3% in 2011.
The share of households in Coal County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 17.6%
Low on the chart: 9.3% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Coal County, Oklahoma.
How Coal County has changed
Coal County's population had its largest rise, from 5,403 in 1969 to 5,889 in 1974.
Coal County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and is down 13% since
High on the chart: 6,209 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Coal County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Coal County fell most sharply on the way to its 2005 low, from 1,192 in 2000 to 957 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Coal County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 1,234
High on the chart: 1,249 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Coal County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 11.7% | 2025 4.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.1% | 2024 18.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,880 | 2024 $50,771 |
The table uses 4.3% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Coal County's history
1907
Coal County was formed at statehood from the former Shappaway County (later renamed Atoka County) of the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 18,406. The 2020 Census counted 5,266, 29% of the peak. Census Bureau
1994
Hail in April 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2001
A tornado in April 2001 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flood in May 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1970
27 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Coal County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Coal County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Coal County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Coal County ranks 4th of the six; Atoka County is highest, at 36.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hughes County, OK | 88 | 22.4% | 31.7% |
| Johnston County, OK | 83 | 21.5% | 34.8% |
| Pittsburg County, OK | 83 | 18.8% | 34.3% |
| Atoka County, OK | 80 | 19.5% | 36.4% |
| Coal County, OK | 65 | 18.6% | 33.6% |
| Pontotoc County, OK | 49 | 13.2% | 26.9% |
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 Coal County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Coal County's poverty rate was 18.6% in 2024, 28th 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, Coal County ranks 48th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Coal 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 Coal County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.