In Texas County, Oklahoma, benefit checks make up only 12 cents of every dollar of income
In Texas County, 12.0% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is lower than in 96% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 59% of U.S. counties.
What drives Texas County's score
In Texas County, late payments on loans are the highest-scoring part, at 54.0. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 25.8. Bankruptcy filings ran at 34.4 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 95% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Texas 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.
Even so, Texas County is worse off than most counties on adults 25 to 54 not working (27.7%, 2020 to 2024) and people with a subprime credit score (50.8%, Q2 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 54.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.1% · August 202543rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.3% · August 202536th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score50.8% · second quarter of 202681st percentile
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- 50.4 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 rent21.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.8% · fiscal year 202729th percentile
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- 47.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.5% · 202452nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.4% · 202446th percentile
- People with a disability12.5% · 2020 to 202418th percentile
- People without health insurance11.9% · 2020 to 202477th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$68,754 · 202443rd percentile
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- 44.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 20264th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.7% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 25.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector22.5% · August 202547th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people34.4 · 20254th 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 Texas 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 Texas County, 12.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Texas County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Texas County had its largest drop, from 15.0% in 2009 to 9.2% in 2014.
In Texas County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 12.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about seven times as much as benefit checks
In Texas County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 12.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Texas County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 7.7% in 2010 to 9.6% in 2011; 6.1% in 2021 to 8.0% in 2022.
The share of households in Texas County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 6.7%
Low on the chart: 5.8% in 2019. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Texas County, Oklahoma.
How Texas County has changed
Texas County's population had its largest rise, from 16,817 in 1994 to 19,878 in 1999.
Texas County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 22,316 in 2014. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Texas County, Oklahoma.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Texas County doubled to 9,932, the highest on the chart, with most of the change between 1995 and 2000
Biggest rise: 1995 to 2000, reaching 9,816. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Texas County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 1.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.8% | 2024 13.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $24,527 | 2024 $68,754 |
The table uses 1.9% for 2025; the score uses 2.6% 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 Texas County's history
1907
Formed at Oklahoma statehood (November 16, 1907) from the central one-third of Old Beaver County. Wikipedia
1922
Hugoton-Panhandle gas field discovered, Texas County became nation's largest producer of natural gas. Wikipedia
1935
Black Sunday dust storm on April 14, 1935, worst dust storm in area's history. Wikipedia
1996
Lightning in July 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 21,384, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 2001
18 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Texas County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Texas County beside its neighbors
Of the eight counties that border Texas County, in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Texas County ranks 7th of the nine; Morton County is highest, at 20.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hansford County, TX | 45 | 11.1% | 11.9% |
| Seward County, KS | 40 | 13.1% | 17.9% |
| Texas County, OK | 40 | 13.5% | 12.0% |
| Cimarron County, OK | 40 | 17.2% | 20.3% |
| Stevens County, KS | 30 | 8.9% | 16.6% |
| Sherman County, TX | 30 | 12.1% | 5.5% |
| Ochiltree County, TX | 29 | 11.4% | 14.1% |
| Morton County, KS | 25 | 12.2% | 20.8% |
| Beaver County, OK | 15 | 12.5% | 15.5% |
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 Texas County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Texas County's poverty rate was 13.5% in 2024, 60th 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, Texas County ranks 64th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Texas 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 Texas County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.