#392 Top 500 Most Distressed Counties · 2026

Haskell County, Oklahoma

72.6 · high county distress 392nd of 3,144 counties nationally · 11,832 residents How this is calculated →
The headline number
5% Haskell residents
vs.
4% U.S. median

Above the national median for unemployment — and 5.4× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Loving County, TX — 1%).

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026)

Main Findings

Wire lede · 37 words · paste-ready

Haskell County, Oklahoma ranks 392nd most distressed in the United States on the County Distress Index. The driver: 5% of the labor force is unemployed — above the national median of 4%. Its highest-scoring domain is Labor.

Key Findings
  • 392nd of 3,144 counties on the County Distress Index — 72.6 · high county distress, 19th in Oklahoma.
  • 5% of the labor force is unemployed (U.S. median 4%). Unemployment at the 91st percentile nationally. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026).
  • Uninsured rate at 17% — national median 8%, ranked at the 92nd percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023).
  • Subprime credit share at 36% — national median 23%, ranked at the 90th percentile. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025).
  • Debt in collections at 34% — national median 23%, ranked at the 84th percentile. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
County Distress Index cluster map. Haskell County, Oklahoma and its neighbors colored by county distress score label.
Haskell and its 6 geographic neighbors, graded by County Distress Index score. Haskell County ranks 392nd of 3,144. American Default Research
Wire summary — paste-ready, any angle 20 words

Haskell County has a high county distress score. The score label gives the intensity; the rank gives the national position.

— American Default Research
Index note — for feature use 32 words

The CDI gives this county a high county distress label. The rank belongs beside the score because the two answer different questions: score intensity and national position. Its highest-scoring domain is Labor.

— American Default Research

Indicator History

Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.

Updated Jul 1, 2026
BLS 1990 to 2025

Unemployment rate

4.6% -8.0 pp since 1990
Census 1989 to 2024

Poverty rate

20.9% -4.7 pp since 1989
BEA 1969 to 2024

Transfer income share

40.1% +18.1 pp since 1969
FRED/Equifax 2014 Q2 to 2025 Q4

Subprime credit population

36.3% -1.0 pp since 2014 Q2

The Indicators Behind Haskell County's CDI Score

Every number traces to a public source. Haskell County's value shown alongside OK's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.

How to read the table. A domain score is a 0–100 composite of the indicators in that domain; higher values represent a higher mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles. A county's domain rank is computed separately against all counties. Percentile is Haskell County's national rank among all 3,144 U.S. counties for that indicator, always oriented so higher = more distressed.
Indicator Haskell OK median U.S. median Pctile Source
Delinquency — domain score 73 · Rank 746 of 3,144
Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due 6% 7% 5% 57th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due 7% 6% 5% 71st Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 36% 30% 23% 90th Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Equifax (2025)
Default & Legal — domain score 71 · Rank 706 of 3,144
Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections 34% 31% 23% 84th Urban Institute Debt in America (2025)
Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents 144 147 126 58th Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025)
Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 44 · Rank 1,800 of 3,144
Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income 23% 21% 21% 65th HUD FMR (FY2026); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent 13% 16% 18% 24th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Labor — domain score 91 · Rank 279 of 3,144
Unemployment Share of labor force unemployed 5% 4% 4% 91st U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (May 2026)
Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 84 · Rank 224 of 3,144
Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line 25% 23% 18% 81st U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability 21% 20% 16% 86th U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line 17% 17% 14% 75th U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2023)
Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage 17% 14% 8% 92nd U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2023)
Data compiled May 2026 from Urban Institute Debt in America (2025 panel), U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-yr 2023, SAIPE 2023, Business Formation Statistics 2024), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LAUS May 2026, QCEW 2024), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings 2025), and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2026).

Five-Domain Breakdown

The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.

Labor Primary driver 91
Weight 20% · Rank 279 of 3,144
Safety Net & Buffer 84
Weight 20% · Rank 224 of 3,144
Delinquency 73
Weight 20% · Rank 746 of 3,144
Default & Legal 71
Weight 20% · Rank 706 of 3,144
Debt Burden (housing basis) 44
Weight 20% · Rank 1,800 of 3,144

Methodology

The County Distress Index is a 0–100 composite score of household financial distress, computed for all 3,144 U.S. counties. Higher scores indicate greater distress. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the CDI score is the equal-weight mean of those domain scores.

Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), FRED/Equifax (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), U.S. Courts Administrative Office (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and HUD Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2022 to 2026 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.

For Press & Research

Everything you need to cite Haskell County data — in under 60 seconds.

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Press contact: Ross Kilburn · press@americandefault.org · (307) 264-2992 · same-day response, 9am–6pm ET
Draft wire copy 126-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
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STIGLER, Okla. — Haskell County ranks 392nd among the nation's most financially distressed counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.

The composite score of 72.6 out of 100 gives Haskell a high county distress label. Among 3,144 U.S. counties scored, 391 counties rank more distressed. Within Oklahoma, Haskell ranks 19th of 77 counties.

The index, which draws on 13 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies labor as the primary driver in Haskell. 5% of the labor force is unemployed — above the national median of 4%.

American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.

Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.

— 30 —

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Haskell County's CDI score, and what does it mean?

Haskell County scores 72.6 out of 100 on the County Distress Index, with the score label high county distress. It ranks 392nd of 3,144 U.S. counties and 19th of 77 Oklahoma counties. Higher county scores indicate more distress.

What drives Haskell County's distress score?

The highest-scoring domain is Labor, at a domain score of 91. Unemployment ranks at the 91st percentile nationally.

How does Haskell County compare to its neighbors?

Haskell County's neighbors span two CDI score labels. Highest-distress neighbor: Muskogee County (82.18, very high county distress). Lowest: Latimer County (74.81, high county distress).

How is the County Distress Index calculated?

The CDI is a 0–100 composite of 13 source indicators across five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Data comes from Urban Institute, Census Bureau, BLS, U.S. Courts, HUD, and related public sources. Full methodology →
Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

Founder · American Default Research · Seattle, Washington

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Founded American Default Research in 2026.

Read more
from Ross →