About one in three people with a credit file in Ellis County, Oklahoma, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Ellis County, 35.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 86% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Ellis County's score
In Ellis County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 71.0. Late payments on loans come next, at 65.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Ellis 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.
Ellis County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (16.8%, fiscal year 2027) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.0%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 71.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector35.5% · August 202587th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people137.1 · 202554th percentile
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- 65.6 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.6% · August 202567th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202568th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.4% · second quarter of 202661st percentile
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- 61.9 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.8% · 202446th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.5% · 202451st percentile
- People with a disability20.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance11.1% · 2020 to 202473rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,593 · 202453rd percentile
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- 46.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202614th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
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- 19.9 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 rent14.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.8% · fiscal year 202711th 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 Ellis 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 Ellis County, 23.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Ellis County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Ellis County had its largest drop, from 19.3% in 2009 to 8.5% in 2014.
In Ellis County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 21.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Ellis County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Ellis County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2022 high, from 9.7% in 2021 to 11.9% in 2022.
The share of households in Ellis County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2015, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 5.2% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Ellis County, Oklahoma.
How Ellis County has changed
Ellis County's population had its largest drop, from 5,986 in 1984 to 4,652 in 1989.
Ellis County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 40% since
High on the chart: 5,986 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Ellis County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Ellis County had its largest drop, from 1,198 in 1990 to 936 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Ellis County fell 3% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2000
Low on the chart: 905 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Ellis County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.3% | 2025 2.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.9% | 2024 12.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,875 | 2024 $65,593 |
The table uses 2.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.0% 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 Ellis County's history
1907
Founded in 1907 as part of Oklahoma statehood. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 15,375. The 2020 Census counted 3,749, 24% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in April 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1990
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Ellis County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Ellis County beside its neighbors
Ellis County scores higher than all seven counties that border it, in Oklahoma and Texas. For the share of income from benefit checks, Ellis County ranks 4th of the eight; Woodward County is highest, at 26.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellis County, OK | 55 | 12.8% | 21.8% |
| Woodward County, OK | 41 | 15.0% | 26.5% |
| Hemphill County, TX | 31 | 10.2% | 13.6% |
| Dewey County, OK | 29 | 12.9% | 24.5% |
| Harper County, OK | 26 | 11.2% | 20.5% |
| Roger Mills County, OK | 24 | 14.1% | 26.0% |
| Lipscomb County, TX | 20 | 13.4% | 9.1% |
| Beaver County, OK | 15 | 12.5% | 15.5% |
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 Ellis County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Ellis County's poverty rate was 12.8% in 2024, 65th 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, Ellis County ranks 53rd of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Ellis 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 Ellis County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.