About one in 13 people in Rogers County, Oklahoma, lives below the poverty line
In Rogers County, 7.9% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 92% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Rogers County's score
In Rogers County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 61.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 22.4. About one in eight renters (12.9%, 2020 to 2024) pays half their income or more in rent, a lower share than in 78% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Rogers 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.
Rogers County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 61.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.4% · August 202550th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people189.5 · 202572nd percentile
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- 45.9 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.8% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202638th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.3% · 2020 to 202453rd percentile
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- 40.4 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.6% · August 202535th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.6% · August 202542nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score38.3% · second quarter of 202643rd percentile
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- 33.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line7.9% · 20247th percentile
- Children below the poverty line9.5% · 202410th percentile
- People with a disability16.8% · 2020 to 202457th percentile
- People without health insurance11.0% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,443 · 202418th percentile
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- 22.4 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 rent12.9% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.1% · fiscal year 202722nd 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 Rogers 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 Rogers County, 17.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Rogers County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Rogers County had its largest rise, from 9.4% in 1989 to 12.8% in 1994.
In Rogers County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 21.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Rogers County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 21.6%; 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 Rogers County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 10.7%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2009 to 2010, reaching 8.4%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Rogers County, Oklahoma.
How Rogers County has changed
Rogers County's population had its largest rise, from 34,394 in 1974 to 45,170 in 1979.
Rogers County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size in 2024, reaching 101,371, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 54,558. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Rogers County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Rogers County more than doubled to 31,076, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 31,076. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Rogers County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 3.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 9.5% | 2024 7.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,443 | 2024 $81,443 |
The table uses 3.0% for 2025; the score uses 3.8% 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 Rogers County's history
1828
In 1828, Cherokee bands who had left the Southeast early exchanged their Arkansas land for an area that included present-day Rogers County. Wikipedia
1907
Upon statehood in 1908, the western portion of the Saline District was organized as Cooweescoowee District and designated as a county named Cooweescoowee, then renamed Rogers County. Wikipedia
1991
A tornado in April 1991 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1997
Lightning in July 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in May 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 95,240, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A tornado in May 2024 did $40 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1974
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Rogers County, 12 of them for flooding. FEMA
Rogers County beside its neighbors
All six counties that border Rogers County score higher than it does. For the share of income from benefit checks, Rogers County ranks 5th of the seven; Craig County is highest, at 37.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nowata County, OK | 72 | 15.3% | 33.6% |
| Craig County, OK | 68 | 17.6% | 37.4% |
| Mayes County, OK | 67 | 14.5% | 32.2% |
| Tulsa County, OK | 65 | 13.3% | 14.9% |
| Washington County, OK | 59 | 13.8% | 12.0% |
| 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 Rogers County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Rogers County's poverty rate was 7.9% in 2024, 76th 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, Rogers County ranks 71st of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Rogers 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 Rogers 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 Rogers County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.