About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Custer County, Oklahoma, have a job
In Custer County, 15.9% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 79% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Custer County's score
In Custer County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 63.4. Jobs are the lowest part, at 20.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Custer 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.
Even so, Custer County is worse off than most counties on people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (32.2%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 63.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.2% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people120.3 · 202547th percentile
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- 59.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.1% · 202471st percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.8% · 202459th percentile
- People with a disability12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- People without health insurance11.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,435 · 202469th percentile
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- 47.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.4% · August 202515th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202555th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.3% · second quarter of 202670th percentile
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- 41.9 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 rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.2% · fiscal year 202723rd percentile
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- 20.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.9% · 2020 to 202420th 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 Custer 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 Custer County, 14.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Custer County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Custer County had its largest drop, from 20.6% in 2009 to 15.2% in 2014.
In Custer County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 24.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Custer County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Custer County getting SNAP food aid rose most from 7.8% in 2017 to 10.0% in 2019, 1.1 points each year.
The share of households in Custer County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2014, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 7.2% 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, Custer County, Oklahoma.
How Custer County has changed
Custer County's population rose 29% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1979 and 1984
High on the chart: 30,500 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Custer County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Custer County rose by about a quarter to 12,820, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 12,721. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Custer County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.8% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 16.2% | 2024 16.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,070 | 2024 $60,435 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Custer County's history
1891
Custer County was formed on 1891 as an original county from former Cheyenne land, and called G County. Wikipedia
1896
On November 6, 1896, it was renamed Custer County. Wikipedia
1967
A tornado in June 1967 killed four people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1981
A tornado in May 1981 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1981
A tornado in May 1981 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1994
A tornado in June 1994 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 28,513, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1982
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Custer County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Custer County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Custer County, four score higher. Of the group, Custer County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Caddo County gets the largest, at 36.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine County, OK | 74 | 18.1% | 27.8% |
| Beckham County, OK | 74 | 20.2% | 29.2% |
| Caddo County, OK | 65 | 18.9% | 36.0% |
| Washita County, OK | 55 | 16.3% | 33.2% |
| Custer County, OK | 44 | 16.1% | 24.1% |
| Dewey County, OK | 29 | 12.9% | 24.5% |
| Roger Mills County, OK | 24 | 14.1% | 26.0% |
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 Custer County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Custer County's poverty rate was 16.1% in 2024, 45th 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, Custer County ranks 62nd of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Custer 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 Custer 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 Custer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.