About three in ten people with a credit file in Jackson County, Oklahoma, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Jackson County, 30.2% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 74% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 54% of U.S. counties.
What drives Jackson County's score
In Jackson County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 75.3. People with a car or retail loan behind: 7.4%, August 2025, higher than in 77% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 73.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Jackson 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.
Jackson County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.7%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (18.0%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 75.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.9% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score48.6% · second quarter of 202676th percentile
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- 73.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.4% · 202472nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.7% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability17.7% · 2020 to 202465th percentile
- People without health insurance13.0% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,097 · 202467th percentile
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- 56.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.2% · August 202574th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people105.4 · 202538th percentile
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- 39.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202624th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.4% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
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- 17.7 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 rent10.7% · 2020 to 202414th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.0% · fiscal year 202721st 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County, 15.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Jackson County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Jackson County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 24.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Jackson County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.7%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Jackson County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.0% in 2010 to 16.4% in 2011.
The share of households in Jackson County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 15.3%
Low on the chart: 13.0% in 2022. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Jackson County, Oklahoma.
How Jackson County has changed
Jackson County's population had its largest drop, from 31,760 in 1984 to 29,395 in 1989.
Jackson County's population fell by about a fifth to 24,541, the lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 32,399 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Jackson County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Jackson County had its largest rise, from 8,470 in 1995 to 10,377 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Jackson County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 10,663 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Jackson County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.8% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.0% | 2024 16.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,971 | 2024 $61,097 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% 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 Jackson County's history
1907
Formed from old Greer County when Oklahoma statehood occurred November 16, 1907. Wikipedia
1970
The county's largest recorded population was the 1970 Census count of 30,902. The 2020 Census counted 24,785, 80% of the peak. Census Bureau
1975
A tornado in February 1975 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in May 1982 did $250 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in May 1982 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2008
A thunderstorm in June 2008 did $750 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Jackson County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Jackson County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Jackson County, in Oklahoma and Texas, score higher than it does. Of the group, Jackson County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Greer County gets the largest, at 42.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tillman County, OK | 93 | 22.2% | 37.8% |
| Greer County, OK | 86 | 26.0% | 42.5% |
| Hardeman County, TX | 83 | 18.1% | 35.7% |
| Harmon County, OK | 77 | 24.5% | 28.7% |
| Wilbarger County, TX | 76 | 14.9% | 25.3% |
| Kiowa County, OK | 73 | 22.2% | 38.4% |
| Jackson County, OK | 54 | 16.4% | 24.7% |
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 Jackson County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Jackson County's poverty rate was 16.4% in 2024, 42nd 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, Jackson County ranks 54th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.