In Latimer County, Oklahoma, benefit checks brought in more money than paychecks in 2024
In 2024, 45 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 87% of U.S. counties.
What drives Latimer County's score
In Latimer County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 91.4. The typical household earns $47,142 a year (2024), less than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 83.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Latimer 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.
Latimer County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (15.3%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (115.5, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 91.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line21.1% · 202490th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.9% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability23.5% · 2020 to 202493rd percentile
- People without health insurance15.5% · 2020 to 202490th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$47,142 · 2024top 5%
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- 83.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202671st percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working35.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 75.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.0% · August 202574th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.7% · August 202556th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.3% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 60.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.2% · August 202577th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people115.5 · 202543rd percentile
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- 53.5 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 rent15.3% · 2020 to 202433rd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.3% · fiscal year 202773rd 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 Latimer 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 Latimer County, 22.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Latimer County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Latimer County, benefit checks overtook pay in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Oklahoma
In Latimer County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Latimer County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a fifth from 2009 to 2024, reaching 18.7%, with most of the change between 2013 and 2014
High on the chart: 18.7% 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, Latimer County, Oklahoma.
How Latimer County has changed
Latimer County's population rose most sharply from its first year (8,630 in 1969) to 9,715 in 1974.
Latimer County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 15% since
High on the chart: 11,155 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Latimer County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Latimer County had its largest rise, from 3,582 in 1995 to 4,423 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Latimer County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 30% since
High on the chart: 4,423 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Latimer County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.9% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 24.7% | 2024 21.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $16,040 | 2024 $47,142 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% 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 Latimer County's history
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 13,866. The 2020 Census counted 9,444, 68% of the peak. Census Bureau
1960
A tornado in May 1960 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed 13 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
A tornado in May 1960 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1975
A tornado in December 1975 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A flash flood in April 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Latimer County, 15 of them for flooding. FEMA
Latimer County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Latimer County, one scores higher. Of the group, Latimer County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (44.8%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Flore County, OK | 88 | 19.2% | 37.4% |
| Latimer County, OK | 87 | 21.1% | 44.8% |
| Haskell County, OK | 84 | 20.9% | 40.1% |
| Pittsburg County, OK | 83 | 18.8% | 34.3% |
| Pushmataha County, OK | 82 | 18.8% | 44.8% |
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 Latimer County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Latimer County's poverty rate was 21.1% in 2024, 11th 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, Latimer County ranks 13th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Latimer 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 Latimer 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 Latimer County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.