In Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2020
In 2024, 45 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 82% of U.S. counties.
What drives Pushmataha County's score
In Pushmataha County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 90.5. About three in ten people (28.4%, 2020 to 2024) have a disability, a higher share than in 95% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 84.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Pushmataha 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.
Pushmataha County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (11.6%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (74.1, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 90.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.8% · 202483rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.5% · 202485th percentile
- People with a disability28.4% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance18.5% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$48,392 · 202493rd percentile
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- 84.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.1% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202682nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working28.6% · 2020 to 202486th percentile
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- 77.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202562nd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.8% · August 202581st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score54.4% · second quarter of 202688th percentile
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- 50.6 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 people74.1 · 202521st percentile
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- 43.1 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 rent11.6% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.7% · fiscal year 202768th 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 Pushmataha 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 Pushmataha County, 22.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Pushmataha County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Pushmataha County, benefit checks brought in more than pay from work in 2024, a bigger share of income than across Oklahoma
In Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 44.8%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Pushmataha County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 20.7% in 2011 to 22.9% in 2012.
The share of households in Pushmataha County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Biggest drop: 2015 to 2016, reaching 20.3%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Pushmataha County, Oklahoma.
How Pushmataha County has changed
Pushmataha County's population had its largest rise, from 10,449 in 1974 to 11,398 in 1979.
Pushmataha County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 9% since
High on the chart: 11,820 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Pushmataha County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Pushmataha County rose most sharply from its first year (1,893 in 1990) to 2,411 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Pushmataha County was at its highest on the chart in 2005 and is down 17% since
High on the chart: 2,994 in 2005. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Pushmataha County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 8.8% | 2025 5.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 33.3% | 2024 18.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $13,470 | 2024 $48,392 |
The table uses 5.0% for 2025; the score uses 5.1% 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 Pushmataha County's history
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 19,466. The 2020 Census counted 10,812, 56% of the peak. Census Bureau
1982
A tornado in May 1982 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1983
A tornado in November 1983 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A flash flood in November 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1968
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Pushmataha County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Pushmataha County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Pushmataha County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Pushmataha County ranks 2nd of the seven; Latimer County is highest, at 44.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choctaw County, OK | 89 | 26.4% | 41.6% |
| Le Flore County, OK | 88 | 19.2% | 37.4% |
| Latimer County, OK | 87 | 21.1% | 44.8% |
| McCurtain County, OK | 85 | 21.2% | 35.1% |
| Pittsburg County, OK | 83 | 18.8% | 34.3% |
| Pushmataha County, OK | 82 | 18.8% | 44.8% |
| Atoka County, OK | 80 | 19.5% | 36.4% |
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 Pushmataha County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Pushmataha County's poverty rate was 18.8% in 2024, 26th 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, Pushmataha County ranks 23rd of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Pushmataha 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 Pushmataha 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 Pushmataha County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.