About one in five people in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, lives below the poverty line
In Kiowa County, 22.2% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 92% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 73% of U.S. counties.
What drives Kiowa County's score
In Kiowa County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 85.0. Housing costs come next, at 60.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Kiowa 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.
Kiowa County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (1.8%, August 2025) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (71.4, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line22.2% · 202492nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line30.5% · 202492nd percentile
- People with a disability22.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- People without health insurance8.9% · 2020 to 202458th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,300 · 202491st percentile
-
- 60.8 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 rent19.8% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202761st percentile
-
- 60.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202644th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.7% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
-
- 57.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.7% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind1.8% · August 20255th or lower percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.3% · second quarter of 202686th percentile
-
- 54.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.5% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people71.4 · 202519th percentile
-
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 Kiowa 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 Kiowa County, 20.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Kiowa County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Kiowa County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 38.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Kiowa County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Kiowa County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 17.3% in 2022 to 22.2% in 2023.
The share of households in Kiowa County getting SNAP food aid nearly doubled from 2009 to 2023, reaching 22.2%, then turned down in 2024
High on the chart: 22.2% 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, Kiowa County, Oklahoma.
How Kiowa County has changed
Kiowa County's population fell 39% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 11,450. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Kiowa County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Kiowa County had its largest drop, from 2,995 in 2000 to 2,533 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Kiowa County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 36% since
High on the chart: 2,995 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Kiowa County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 27.6% | 2024 22.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,124 | 2024 $50,300 |
The table uses 3.3% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Kiowa County's history
1901
Created in 1901 as part of Oklahoma Territory after August 6, 1901 lottery drawing for Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 29,630. The 2020 Census counted 8,509, 29% of the peak. Census Bureau
1950
A tornado in April 1950 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1975
A tornado in February 1975 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1983
34 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Kiowa County, 19 of them for flooding. FEMA
Kiowa County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Kiowa County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Kiowa County ranks 2nd of the eight; Greer County is highest, at 42.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tillman County, OK | 93 | 22.2% | 37.8% |
| Greer County, OK | 86 | 26.0% | 42.5% |
| Comanche County, OK | 83 | 16.9% | 27.8% |
| Beckham County, OK | 74 | 20.2% | 29.2% |
| Kiowa County, OK | 73 | 22.2% | 38.4% |
| Caddo County, OK | 65 | 18.9% | 36.0% |
| Washita County, OK | 55 | 16.3% | 33.2% |
| 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 Kiowa County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Kiowa County's poverty rate was 22.2% in 2024, 7th 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, Kiowa County ranks 39th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Kiowa 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.
-
Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma
Legal aid
-
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 Kiowa County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.