About one in three people with a credit file in Kay County, Oklahoma, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Kay County, 34.7% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 85% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kay County's score
In Kay County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 76.8. Income and the safety net comes next, at 76.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kay 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.
Kay County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.3%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (19.3%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.8 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.0% · August 202559th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.5% · August 202585th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.4% · second quarter of 202684th percentile
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- 76.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.8% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.2% · 202476th percentile
- People with a disability19.5% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- People without health insurance11.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,006 · 202478th percentile
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- 75.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector34.7% · August 202585th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people165 · 202564th percentile
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- 61.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202654th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.0% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
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- 31.4 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 income19.3% · fiscal year 202734th 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 Kay 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 Kay County, 19.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kay County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kay County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, reaching 31.8% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Kay County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 31.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kay County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.7% in 2010 to 14.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Kay County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 17.2%
High on the chart: 17.7% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Kay County, Oklahoma.
How Kay County has changed
Kay County's population had its largest drop, from 52,520 in 1984 to 48,494 in 1989.
Kay County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 52,520 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kay County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Kay County fell 10% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 2015 and 2020
High on the chart: 20,264 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kay County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.2% | 2025 3.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.0% | 2024 16.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,425 | 2024 $57,006 |
The table uses 3.5% for 2025; the score uses 4.1% 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 Kay County's history
1884
Chilocco Indian Agricultural School established north of Newkirk boarding school Indians 1884-1980. Wikipedia
1955
A tornado in May 1955 did $25 million in property damage and killed 20 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
The county's largest recorded population was the 1960 Census count of 51,042. The 2020 Census counted 43,700, 86% of the peak. Census Bureau
1973
A tornado in March 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1973
A tornado in November 1973 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A thunderstorm in May 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kay County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kay County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Kay County, in Oklahoma and Kansas, one scores higher. Of the group, Kay County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (31.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osage County, OK | 78 | 15.3% | 25.6% |
| Kay County, OK | 73 | 16.8% | 31.8% |
| Noble County, OK | 53 | 13.1% | 26.3% |
| Garfield County, OK | 52 | 12.8% | 25.6% |
| Cowley County, KS | 50 | 13.2% | 29.7% |
| Grant County, OK | 46 | 15.1% | 25.4% |
| Sumner County, KS | 34 | 10.7% | 26.5% |
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 Kay County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Kay County's poverty rate was 16.8% in 2024, 40th 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, Kay County ranks 38th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kay 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 Kay County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.