Jefferson County, Oklahoma

County Distress Index: Serious · 70.7 | 5,347 people · 16th most distressed in Oklahoma
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Jefferson County, OK shows significant household financial distress with a score of 70.7 — 175th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within Oklahoma, it ranks 16th of 77 counties. It scores higher than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Jefferson County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 94.5 — worse than roughly 95% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 94.5
Poverty Rate 94
Income vs. State Median 94
Child Poverty Rate 95
Community Vulnerability 90.5
Uninsured Rate 86
Disability Rate 95
Employment & Wages 71.5
Unemployment Rate 87
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 79
Business Formation Rate 49
Debt & Delinquency 55.9
Debt in Collections 87
Medical Debt 82
Student Loan Delinquency 77
Auto Loan Delinquency 13
Credit Card Delinquency 43
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 33
Housing Cost Burden 41.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 26
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 22
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 14
Homeownership Rate 60
Rent-to-Income Ratio 85

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Jefferson County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Jefferson County
Jefferson County, OK 70.7 Serious —
Carter County, OK 66.7 Serious -4.0
Cotton County, OK 64.4 Elevated -6.4
Montague County, TX 62.6 Elevated -8.2
Love County, OK 58.6 Elevated -12.1
Stephens County, OK 57.5 Elevated -13.3
Clay County, TX 55.7 Elevated -15.1

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Jefferson County
Lee County, KY 70.7 Serious -0.0
Hickory County, MO 70.6 Serious -0.1
Scott County, AR 70.9 Serious +0.1
Real County, TX 70.6 Serious -0.1
Latimer County, OK 70.9 Serious +0.2

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Jefferson County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Jefferson County

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Oklahoma Bar Association Lawyer Referral offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Oklahoma Bar Association Lawyer Referral 405-416-7000

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the distress score for Jefferson County, Oklahoma?

    Jefferson County has a County Distress Index score of 70.7 out of 100, placing it in the Serious zone. It ranks 175th nationally out of 3,144 counties and 16th in Oklahoma out of 77 counties.

  • What drives financial distress in Jefferson County?

    The primary driver of distress in Jefferson County is Income & Poverty, where the county scores 94.5 out of 100. This domain is measured by indicators including Poverty Rate, Income vs. State Median, Child Poverty Rate.

  • How does Jefferson County compare to neighboring counties?

    Jefferson County (70.7) can be compared to its 6 neighboring counties: Carter County, OK (66.7); Cotton County, OK (64.4); Montague County, TX (62.6).

  • How is the County Distress Index calculated?

    The County Distress Index uses percentile-rank averaging across five domains: Debt & Delinquency, Income & Poverty, Housing Cost Burden, Employment & Wages, and Community Vulnerability. Each county's indicators are ranked against all 3,144 U.S. counties. A score of 50 means the county is at the national median; higher scores indicate greater distress.

  • What is the population of Jefferson County?

    Jefferson County, Oklahoma has a population of approximately 5,347 (2023 Census estimate), classified as a tiny county.