About one in four people in Mayes County, Oklahoma, has a disability
In Mayes County, 23.0% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 91% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 67% of U.S. counties.
What drives Mayes County's score
In Mayes County, collections and bankruptcy weighs most: the score for collections and bankruptcy is 77.0. Bankruptcy filings ran at 228.1 per 100,000 people (2025), higher than in 81% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 70.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Mayes 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.
Mayes County does better than most counties on two measures: rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (16.8%, fiscal year 2027) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (14.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector29.5% · August 202572nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people228.1 · 202581st percentile
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- 70.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.5% · 202460th percentile
- Children below the poverty line18.0% · 202454th percentile
- People with a disability23.0% · 2020 to 202492nd percentile
- People without health insurance14.9% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,597 · 202453rd percentile
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- 68.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.7% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score47.5% · second quarter of 202673rd percentile
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- 64.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working26.7% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
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- 21.2 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 rent14.9% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income16.8% · fiscal year 202711th 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 Mayes 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 Mayes County, 19.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Mayes County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Mayes County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 32.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in nearly twice as much as benefit checks
In Mayes County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 32.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Mayes County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 13.1% in 2011 to 15.5% in 2012.
The share of households in Mayes County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2019 and has since fallen by about a fifth
Low on the chart: 11.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Mayes County, Oklahoma.
How Mayes County has changed
Mayes County's population had its largest rise, from 26,313 in 1974 to 31,643 in 1979.
Mayes County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40,144
High on the chart: 41,093 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Mayes County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Mayes County rose by more than half to 14,392, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2010 to 2015, reaching 12,737. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Mayes County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.0% | 2025 3.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.1% | 2024 14.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,133 | 2024 $65,597 |
The table uses 3.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.0% 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 Mayes County's history
1820
Union Mission established near present-day Chouteau in 1820. Wikipedia
1828
In 1828, members of the Western Cherokee Nation began arriving in the area from their former lands in Arkansas. Wikipedia
1941
Oklahoma Ordnance Works munitions manufacturing plant created in 1941 near Pryor. Wikipedia
1945
Oklahoma Ordnance Works operated by duPont closed after end of World War II. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in June 1974 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A flash flood in June 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 41,259. The 2020 Census counted 39,046, 95% of the peak. Census Bureau
2011
A thunderstorm in July 2011 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A tornado in May 2024 did $5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Mayes County, 13 of them for flooding. FEMA
Mayes County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Mayes County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Mayes County ranks 4th of the six; Craig County is highest, at 37.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware County, OK | 84 | 18.3% | 35.9% |
| Cherokee County, OK | 79 | 17.8% | 33.2% |
| Craig County, OK | 68 | 17.6% | 37.4% |
| Mayes County, OK | 67 | 14.5% | 32.2% |
| Wagoner County, OK | 38 | 8.6% | 22.7% |
| Rogers County, OK | 34 | 7.9% | 21.6% |
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 Mayes County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Mayes County's poverty rate was 14.5% in 2024, 55th 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, Mayes County ranks 45th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Mayes 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 Mayes County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.