Benefit checks make up 43 cents of every dollar of income in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma
In Okfuskee County, 42.5% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 93% of U.S. counties.
What drives Okfuskee County's score
In Okfuskee County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 90.0. People with a credit card behind: 10.0%, August 2025, higher than in 94% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 89.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Okfuskee 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.
Okfuskee County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (16.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.0% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.0% · August 202592nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.5% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 89.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line24.3% · 2024top 5%
- Children below the poverty line29.2% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability20.3% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
- People without health insurance13.6% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,016 · 202492nd percentile
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- 87.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.0% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202680th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working34.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
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- 72.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.1% · August 202579th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people168.1 · 202565th percentile
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- 52.2 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 rent16.1% · 2020 to 202437th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.4% · fiscal year 202766th 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 Okfuskee 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 Okfuskee County, 18.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Okfuskee County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Okfuskee County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 42.5% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in only a little more than benefit checks
In Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 42.5%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Okfuskee County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 19.2% in 2009 to 15.0% in 2010.
The share of households in Okfuskee County getting SNAP food aid fell from 2009 to 2024, reaching 19.0%, with its low point on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 15.0% 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, Okfuskee County, Oklahoma.
How Okfuskee County has changed
Okfuskee County's population rose 5% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1979 and 1984
High on the chart: 12,114 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Okfuskee County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Okfuskee County rose 11% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 2,565 in 2025. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Okfuskee County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.1% | 2025 4.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 30.1% | 2024 24.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $14,215 | 2024 $49,016 |
The table uses 4.1% for 2025; the score uses 5.0% 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 Okfuskee County's history
1825
Quapaw and Osage tribes ceded land to United States in 1825. Wikipedia
1861
Chief Opothleyahola led over 5000 Creeks to Kansas to avoid Civil War. Wikipedia
1865
All-black communities founded by freed African American slaves: Boley, Bookertee, Clearview, Chilesville, Rusk. Wikipedia
1914
Oil and gas production began in 1914 with Prairie Oil and Gas Company well near Paden. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 29,016. The 2020 Census counted 11,310, 39% of the peak. Census Bureau
1961
A tornado in February 1961 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1970
A tornado in October 1970 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1981
A tornado in May 1981 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A flash flood in June 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
39 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Okfuskee County, 21 of them for flooding. FEMA
Okfuskee County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Okfuskee County, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Okfuskee County ranks 2nd of the eight; McIntosh County is highest, at 45.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminole County, OK | 97 | 19.7% | 37.5% |
| Okmulgee County, OK | 95 | 19.6% | 39.1% |
| McIntosh County, OK | 93 | 18.9% | 45.9% |
| Okfuskee County, OK | 93 | 24.3% | 42.5% |
| Hughes County, OK | 88 | 22.4% | 31.7% |
| Pottawatomie County, OK | 85 | 16.9% | 29.8% |
| Creek County, OK | 77 | 15.3% | 28.2% |
| Lincoln County, OK | 71 | 17.2% | 30.5% |
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 Okfuskee County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Okfuskee County's poverty rate was 24.3% in 2024, 4th 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, Okfuskee County ranks 7th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Okfuskee 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 Okfuskee 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 Okfuskee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.