Benefit checks make up 37 cents of every dollar of income in Pawnee County, Oklahoma
In Pawnee County, 37.2% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 78% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pawnee County's score
In Pawnee County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 81.3. About three in ten adults aged 25 to 54 (29.1%, 2020 to 2024) aren't working, a higher share than in 87% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 79.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pawnee 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.
Pawnee County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a car or retail loan behind (3.7%, August 2025) 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.
- 81.3 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202675th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working29.1% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
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- 79.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.5% · 202478th percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.8% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability21.7% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance12.3% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,903 · 202475th percentile
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- 73.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.5% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people170.2 · 202566th percentile
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- 62.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.3% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.7% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.8% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 37.3 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 income20.1% · fiscal year 202743rd 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 Pawnee 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 Pawnee County, 20.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pawnee County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pawnee County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 37.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Pawnee County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 37.2%; 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 Pawnee County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 15.5%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2023 to 2024, reaching 15.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pawnee County, Oklahoma.
How Pawnee County has changed
Pawnee County's population rose 38% from 1969 to 2024, with most of the change between 1974 and 1979
High on the chart: 16,559 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pawnee County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Pawnee County had its largest rise, from 2,765 in 1995 to 3,217 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Pawnee County fell to its lowest on the chart in 1995, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 2,765 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pawnee County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.7% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.0% | 2024 17.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,919 | 2024 $57,903 |
The table uses 3.9% for 2025; the score uses 4.8% 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 Pawnee County's history
1874
Pawnee people sold their Nebraska reservation in 1874 and purchased land from Cherokee and Muscogee Nations to establish home in Indian Territory. Wikipedia
1875
Pawnee Agency and Pawnee Boarding School established after Pawnee tribe came to this area in 1875. Wikipedia
1893
Organized as County Q with the remaining lands opened to non-Indian settlers in 1893. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 19,882. The 2020 Census counted 15,553, 78% of the peak. Census Bureau
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed three people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A tornado in April 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1991
A tornado in April 1991 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pawnee County, 9 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pawnee County beside its neighbors
Pawnee County scores higher than all five counties that border it. Of the group, Pawnee County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (37.2%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osage County, OK | 78 | 15.3% | 25.6% |
| Pawnee County, OK | 78 | 17.5% | 37.2% |
| Creek County, OK | 77 | 15.3% | 28.2% |
| Payne County, OK | 68 | 20.3% | 22.4% |
| Tulsa County, OK | 65 | 13.3% | 14.9% |
| Noble County, OK | 53 | 13.1% | 26.3% |
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 Pawnee County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Pawnee County's poverty rate was 17.5% in 2024, 34th 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, Pawnee County ranks 29th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pawnee 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 Pawnee 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 Pawnee County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.