About one in five people in Payne County, Oklahoma, lives below the poverty line
In Payne County, 20.3% of people lived below the poverty line. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 68% of U.S. counties.
What drives Payne County's score
In Payne County, housing costs weigh most: the score for housing costs is 81.8. About three in ten renters (31.5%, 2020 to 2024) pay half their income or more in rent, a higher share than in 98% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 65.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Payne 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.
Payne County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (14.0%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a credit card behind (4.8%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 81.9 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent31.5% · 2020 to 202498th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.3% · fiscal year 202765th percentile
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- 65.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.3% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line17.0% · 202449th percentile
- People with a disability14.0% · 2020 to 202430th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,326 · 202483rd percentile
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- 56.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector27.9% · August 202567th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people117.6 · 202545th percentile
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- 50.8 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 working21.2% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
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- 49.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.8% · August 202538th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.2% · August 202549th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score43.0% · second quarter of 202659th 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 Payne 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 Payne County, 13.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Payne County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Payne County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 22.4% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Payne County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.4%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Payne County getting SNAP food aid rose most sharply from its first year (7.3% in 2009) to 8.9% in 2010.
The share of households in Payne County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 10.1%
Low on the chart: 7.3% 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, Payne County, Oklahoma.
How Payne County has changed
Payne County's population nearly doubled to 84,199, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1969 to 1974, reaching 55,948. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Payne County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Payne County rose by about a third from 1990 to 2025, reaching 35,314, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
High on the chart: 35,448 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Payne County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.9% | 2025 3.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 15.6% | 2024 20.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,000 | 2024 $54,326 |
The table uses 3.3% 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 Payne County's history
1890
Established and named as the Sixth County by the Oklahoma Organic Act of 1890. Wikipedia
1975
A tornado in June 1975 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1990
A tornado in May 1990 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1999
A tornado in May 1999 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in May 2019 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 81,646, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1974
32 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Payne County, 11 of them for flooding. FEMA
Payne County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Payne County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Payne County ranks 5th of the six; Pawnee County is highest, at 37.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnee County, OK | 78 | 17.5% | 37.2% |
| Creek County, OK | 77 | 15.3% | 28.2% |
| Lincoln County, OK | 71 | 17.2% | 30.5% |
| Payne County, OK | 68 | 20.3% | 22.4% |
| Noble County, OK | 53 | 13.1% | 26.3% |
| 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 Payne County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Payne County's poverty rate was 20.3% in 2024, 13th 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, Payne County ranks 43rd of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Payne 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 Payne County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.