About one in five people in Comanche County, Oklahoma, has a disability

In Comanche County, 22.2% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.

County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026
22nd
of 77 counties in Oklahoma
83score /100

More distressed than 83% of U.S. counties.

What drives Comanche County's score

In Comanche County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 77.2. About one in three people with a credit file (36.5%, August 2025) has unpaid debt sent to a collector, a higher share than in 88% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 76.4.

The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Comanche 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.

Comanche County does better than most counties on one measure: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.8%, fiscal year 2027).

A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.

  • Collections and bankruptcy

    Biggest factor
    77.2 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025

    • People with unpaid debt sent to a collector
      36.5% · August 2025
      88th percentile
    • Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people
      167 · 2025
      65th percentile
  • Late payments

    76.4 of 100

    Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026

    • People with a credit card behind
      7.5% · August 2025
      78th percentile
    • People with a car or retail loan behind
      6.4% · August 2025
      66th percentile
    • People with a subprime credit score
      51.8% · second quarter of 2026
      83rd percentile
  • Income and safety net

    75.9 of 100

    Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey

    • People below the poverty line
      16.9% · 2024
      75th percentile
    • Children below the poverty line
      22.9% · 2024
      75th percentile
    • People with a disability
      22.2% · 2020 to 2024
      89th percentile
    • People without health insurance
      11.5% · 2020 to 2024
      75th percentile
    • Median household income (lower income, longer bar)
      $62,306 · 2024
      62nd percentile
  • Jobs

    74.9 of 100

    Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey

    • Unemployment rate, average over the latest year
      4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
      69th percentile
    • Adults 25 to 54 not working
      26.6% · 2020 to 2024
      79th percentile
  • Housing costs

    45.7 of 100

    Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027

    • Renters paying half their income or more in rent
      20.1% · 2020 to 2024
      62nd percentile
    • Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income
      18.8% · fiscal year 2027
      29th percentile

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 Comanche 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 Comanche County, 13.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.

Cents of every dollar of income, 2024

Comanche County

57 16 28

Oklahoma

60 19 21

United States

61 21 18
  • Pay from work
  • Investments and rent
  • Benefit checks
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, 2024. Pay from work is total income minus the other two, so the three add to 100.

Benefit checks' share of income in Comanche County had its largest rise in the last span, from 23.8% in 2019 to 27.8% in 2024.

In Comanche County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about six times its 1969 level, reaching 27.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks

In Comanche County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income grew to about six times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 27.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.

  • Benefit checks
  • Pay from work
0%40%80% 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0%40%80% 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4), shares of all personal income received by residents, Comanche County, Oklahoma American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/oklahoma/comanche-county-ok/
Download data (CSV)

The share of households in Comanche County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2014 high, from 14.9% in 2013 to 16.2% in 2014.

The share of households in Comanche County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 16.1%

High on the chart: 16.2% 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, Comanche County, Oklahoma.

0%10%20% 12.9%16.1% 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 0%10%20% 12.9%16.1% 20092011201320152017201920212024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/oklahoma/comanche-county-ok/
Download data (CSV)

How Comanche County has changed

Comanche County's population rose 7% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979

High on the chart: 124,598 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Comanche County, Oklahoma.

0100,000200,000 112,963121,396 196919741979198419891994199920042009201420192024 0100,000200,000 112,963121,396 196919791989199920092024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/oklahoma/comanche-county-ok/
Download data (CSV)

The number of jobs located in Comanche County had its largest rise, from 39,582 in 2005 to 42,687 in 2010.

The number of jobs located in Comanche County rose by about a fifth from 1990 to 2025, reaching 40,936

High on the chart: 43,052 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Comanche County, Oklahoma.

025,00050,000 33,85340,936 19901995200020052010201520202025 025,00050,000 33,85340,936 19901995200020052010201520202025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/oklahoma/comanche-county-ok/
Download data (CSV)
MeasureThenNowSource
Unemployment rateBLS LAUS 1990 6.6% 2025 3.8% BLS LAUS
People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE 1989 16.2% 2024 16.9% Census SAIPE
Median household incomeCensus SAIPE 1989 $23,268 2024 $62,306 Census SAIPE

The table uses 3.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Comanche County's history

  1. 1869

    Fort Sill established in 1869 by Major General Philip Sheridan to stop raids into Texas by American Indian tribes. Wikipedia

  2. 1874

    Red River War broke out in 1874 when Comanche, Kiowa and Southern Cheyenne left their Indian Territory reservation. Wikipedia

  3. 1917

    Camp Doniphan cantonment established at Fort Sill during World War I, active until 1922. Wikipedia

  4. 1979

    A tornado in April 1979 did $25 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database

  5. 2001

    A thunderstorm in May 2001 did $11 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  6. 2010

    The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 124,098. The 2020 Census counted 121,125, 98% of the peak. Census Bureau

  7. 2015

    A flash flood in May 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  8. 2025

    A flash flood in April 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database

  9. Since 1973

    32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Comanche County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA

Comanche County beside its neighbors

Of the six counties that border Comanche County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Comanche County ranks 6th of the seven; Kiowa County is highest, at 38.4%.

CountyDistress scoreScoreRank in its state Poverty rateBenefit checks, share of incomeBenefit checks
Tillman County, OK 93 5th of 77 22.2% 37.8%
Comanche County, OK 83 22nd of 77 16.9% 27.8%
Stephens County, OK 76 32nd of 77 16.1% 30.3%
Cotton County, OK 76 33rd of 77 17.1% 29.4%
Kiowa County, OK 73 39th of 77 22.2% 38.4%
Caddo County, OK 65 47th of 77 18.9% 36.0%
Grady County, OK 48 59th of 77 11.9% 23.3%

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 Comanche County the poorest county in Oklahoma?

No, Comanche County's poverty rate was 16.9% in 2024, 38th 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, Comanche County ranks 22nd of 77 in the state.

If you're behind on your mortgage in Comanche 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.

Oklahoma foreclosure guide →

The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.

Download the CSV for Comanche County · Every U.S. county (CSV)

Cite this Comanche County, Oklahoma, scores 83 on the County Distress Index (data through Sep 2026): more distressed than 83% of U.S. counties · American Default Research · americandefault.org/counties/oklahoma/comanche-county-ok/

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 Comanche County comes from, 2024.
  • History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.