In Creek County, Oklahoma, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in four dollars of the typical household's income
In Creek County, 23.9% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is higher than in 77% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 77% of U.S. counties.
What drives Creek County's score
In Creek County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 78.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 241.4 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 83% of U.S. counties. Late payments on loans come next, at 71.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Creek 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.
Creek County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a disability (14.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 78.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.0% · August 202573rd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people241.4 · 202583rd percentile
-
- 71.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.7% · August 202568th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score45.8% · second quarter of 202669th percentile
-
- 63.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202656th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.2% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
-
- 61.7 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line15.3% · 202466th percentile
- Children below the poverty line20.4% · 202466th percentile
- People with a disability14.7% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- People without health insurance11.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,799 · 202464th percentile
-
- 56.4 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 rent15.7% · 2020 to 202435th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.9% · fiscal year 202777th 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 Creek 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 Creek County, 18.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Creek County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Creek County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 28.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Creek County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.2%; 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 Creek County getting SNAP food aid rose by more than half to 14.8%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2012 to 2013, reaching 12.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Creek County, Oklahoma.
How Creek County has changed
Creek County's population nearly doubled to 73,971, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 67,458. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Creek County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Creek County nearly doubled to 21,304, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 16,599. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Creek County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.6% | 2024 15.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,865 | 2024 $61,799 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.2% 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 Creek County's history
1956
A tornado in April 1956 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
A tornado in May 1960 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1974
A tornado in June 1974 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 13 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 71,754, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
-
Since 1971
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Creek County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Creek County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Creek County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Creek County ranks 5th of the seven; Okfuskee County is highest, at 42.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okmulgee County, OK | 95 | 19.6% | 39.1% |
| Okfuskee County, OK | 93 | 24.3% | 42.5% |
| Pawnee County, OK | 78 | 17.5% | 37.2% |
| Creek County, OK | 77 | 15.3% | 28.2% |
| Lincoln County, OK | 71 | 17.2% | 30.5% |
| Payne County, OK | 68 | 20.3% | 22.4% |
| Tulsa County, OK | 65 | 13.3% | 14.9% |
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 Creek County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Creek County's poverty rate was 15.3% in 2024, 47th 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, Creek County ranks 31st of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Creek 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.
-
Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma
Legal aid
-
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 Creek County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.