About one in five people in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, has a disability
In Lincoln County, 20.7% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 71% of U.S. counties.
What drives Lincoln County's score
In Lincoln County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 76.9. Bankruptcy filings ran at 214.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 78% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 75.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Lincoln 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.
Lincoln County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.3%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 76.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector30.7% · August 202575th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people214.1 · 202578th percentile
-
- 75.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.2% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.7% · 202478th percentile
- People with a disability20.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
- People without health insurance12.0% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$63,528 · 202459th percentile
-
- 72.9 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 behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score46.9% · second quarter of 202671st percentile
-
- 66.1 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 working25.7% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
-
- 21.4 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 rent14.0% · 2020 to 202427th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.3% · fiscal year 202715th 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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
Lincoln County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Lincoln County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 30.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Lincoln County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 30.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 12.4% in 2012 to 14.0% in 2013.
The share of households in Lincoln County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 15.0%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 9.8% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Lincoln County, Oklahoma.
How Lincoln County has changed
Lincoln County's population doubled to 34,972, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 30,066. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Lincoln County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Lincoln County rose 43% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 6,397. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Lincoln County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.3% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.8% | 2024 17.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,360 | 2024 $63,528 |
The table uses 3.6% 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 Lincoln County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 34,779. The 2020 Census counted 33,458, 96% of the peak. Census Bureau
1970
A tornado in October 1970 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in May 1999 did $60 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flash flood in May 2016 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2025
A flash flood in April 2025 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
-
Since 1970
41 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Lincoln County, 21 of them for flooding. FEMA
Lincoln County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Lincoln County, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Lincoln County ranks 2nd of the seven; Okfuskee County is highest, at 42.5%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okfuskee County, OK | 93 | 24.3% | 42.5% |
| Pottawatomie County, OK | 85 | 16.9% | 29.8% |
| Oklahoma County, OK | 78 | 16.2% | 16.5% |
| Creek County, OK | 77 | 15.3% | 28.2% |
| Lincoln County, OK | 71 | 17.2% | 30.5% |
| Payne County, OK | 68 | 20.3% | 22.4% |
| Logan County, OK | 49 | 9.3% | 19.8% |
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 Lincoln County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Lincoln County's poverty rate was 17.2% in 2024, 35th 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, Lincoln County ranks 41st of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Lincoln 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.
Download the CSV for Lincoln 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 Lincoln County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.