About one in 12 people in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, lives below the poverty line
In Wagoner County, 8.6% of people lived below the poverty line. That is lower than in 88% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wagoner County's score
In Wagoner County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 62.4. Housing costs are the lowest part, at 35.0. Rent on a two-bedroom takes 17.8% of the typical household's income (fiscal year 2027), lower than in 80% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wagoner 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, Wagoner County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (201.6, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 62.4 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.1% · August 202549th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people201.6 · 202575th percentile
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- 42.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202644th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.2% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 40.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.5% · August 202533rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind4.4% · August 202539th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.6% · second quarter of 202647th percentile
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- 37.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line8.6% · 202412th percentile
- Children below the poverty line11.0% · 202417th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance11.3% · 2020 to 202474th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$82,745 · 202416th percentile
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- 35.0 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 rent18.2% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.8% · fiscal year 202719th 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 Wagoner 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 Wagoner County, 17.1% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wagoner County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Wagoner County had its largest rise, from 12.3% in 1999 to 15.7% in 2004.
In Wagoner County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 22.7% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Wagoner County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.7%; 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 Wagoner County getting SNAP food aid fell by about a fifth from 2009 to 2024, reaching 8.6%, with most of the change between 2019 and 2020
High on the chart: 11.4% in 2018. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.
How Wagoner County has changed
Wagoner County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size, reaching 91,257, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 91,257. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Wagoner County had its largest rise in the last span, from 9,373 in 2020 to 11,632 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in Wagoner County doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 11,632, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2000 to 2005, reaching 6,602. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wagoner County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.4% | 2024 8.6% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,717 | 2024 $82,745 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.9% 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 Wagoner County's history
1907
In 1907 at Oklahoma statehood, Wagoner County was organized. Wikipedia
1913
MKT moved division headquarters from Wagoner to Muskogee in 1913, ending economic boom. Wikipedia
1974
A tornado in June 1974 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1993
A thunderstorm in April 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1998
Lightning in August 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
A tornado in May 2013 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 80,981, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1971
33 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wagoner County, 14 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wagoner County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wagoner County, five score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Wagoner County ranks 5th of the seven; Okmulgee County is highest, at 39.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okmulgee County, OK | 95 | 19.6% | 39.1% |
| Muskogee County, OK | 94 | 19.6% | 36.8% |
| Cherokee County, OK | 79 | 17.8% | 33.2% |
| Mayes County, OK | 67 | 14.5% | 32.2% |
| Tulsa County, OK | 65 | 13.3% | 14.9% |
| 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 Wagoner County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Wagoner County's poverty rate was 8.6% in 2024, 75th 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, Wagoner County ranks 69th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wagoner 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 Wagoner 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 Wagoner County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.