About one in four people in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, has a disability
In Sequoyah County, 24.5% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 95% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Sequoyah County's score
In Sequoyah County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 89.3. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 82.7.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Sequoyah 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.
Sequoyah County does better than most counties on one measure: renters paying half their income or more in rent (17.1%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line19.6% · 202486th percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.8% · 202487th percentile
- People with a disability24.5% · 2020 to 202495th percentile
- People without health insurance15.1% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,486 · 202487th percentile
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- 82.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.4% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people208.5 · 202576th percentile
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- 81.7 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment 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 working29.4% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
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- 79.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202577th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.0% · August 202572nd percentile
- People with a subprime credit score53.6% · second quarter of 202687th percentile
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- 55.1 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 rent17.1% · 2020 to 202444th 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 Sequoyah 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 Sequoyah County, 18.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Sequoyah County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Sequoyah County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 38.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a quarter more than benefit checks
In Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 38.9%; 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 Sequoyah County getting SNAP food aid rose by about half to 21.2%, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2011 to 2012, reaching 18.5%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.
How Sequoyah County has changed
Sequoyah County's population had its largest rise, from 26,490 in 1974 to 30,723 in 1979.
Sequoyah County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 40,555
High on the chart: 42,208 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Sequoyah County nearly doubled to 9,459, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 8,430. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.8% | 2025 4.0% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.1% | 2024 19.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,468 | 2024 $52,486 |
The table uses 4.0% 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 Sequoyah County's history
1829
Western Cherokee forced removal from Arkansas to Indian Territory in 1829. Wikipedia
1838
Cherokee forced removal from Southeast to Indian Territory called Trail of Tears in late 1830s. Wikipedia
1907
Created 1907 when Oklahoma became a state. Wikipedia
1957
A tornado in January 1957 killed 10 people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
A tornado in May 1960 killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1960
A tornado in May 1960 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2004
A flash flood in April 2004 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 42,391. The 2020 Census counted 39,281, 93% of the peak. Census Bureau
2010
Blue Ribbon Downs racino closed permanently in 2010. Wikipedia
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Since 1972
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Sequoyah County, 16 of them for flooding. FEMA
Sequoyah County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Sequoyah County, in Oklahoma and Arkansas, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Sequoyah County ranks 2nd of the eight; Haskell County is highest, at 40.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adair County, OK | 95 | 22.4% | 38.5% |
| Muskogee County, OK | 94 | 19.6% | 36.8% |
| Sequoyah County, OK | 92 | 19.6% | 38.9% |
| Le Flore County, OK | 88 | 19.2% | 37.4% |
| Haskell County, OK | 84 | 20.9% | 40.1% |
| Cherokee County, OK | 79 | 17.8% | 33.2% |
| Crawford County, AR | 71 | 14.1% | 30.9% |
| Sebastian County, AR | 71 | 12.9% | 26.2% |
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 Sequoyah County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Sequoyah County's poverty rate was 19.6% in 2024, 16th 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, Sequoyah County ranks 8th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Sequoyah 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 Sequoyah 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 Sequoyah County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.