About one in five people in Washita County, Oklahoma, has a disability
In Washita County, 22.4% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 55% of U.S. counties.
What drives Washita County's score
In Washita County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 77.0. Late payments on loans come next, at 65.9.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Washita 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.
Washita County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (10.6%, 2020 to 2024) and unemployment rate, average over the latest year (3.2%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 77.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.3% · 202472nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line22.8% · 202475th percentile
- People with a disability22.4% · 2020 to 202489th percentile
- People without health insurance11.4% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$59,351 · 202472nd percentile
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- 65.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.2% · August 202544th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.7% · August 202569th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.4% · second quarter of 202682nd percentile
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- 63.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector32.3% · August 202580th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people121.1 · 202547th percentile
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- 38.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202619th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working21.8% · 2020 to 202456th percentile
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- 20.3 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 rent10.6% · 2020 to 202413th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.5% · fiscal year 202726th 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 Washita 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 Washita County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Washita County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Washita County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, reaching 33.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about one and a half times as much as benefit checks
In Washita County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 33.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Washita County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 11.9% in 2022 to 13.7% in 2023.
The share of households in Washita County getting SNAP food aid doubled to 14.9%, the highest on the chart
Low on the chart: 7.1% in 2015. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Washita County, Oklahoma.
How Washita County has changed
Washita County's population had its largest drop, from 15,188 in 1984 to 11,549 in 1989.
Washita County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1984 and is down 29% since
High on the chart: 15,188 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Washita County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Washita County had its largest drop, from 2,396 in 1995 to 2,096 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Washita County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 2,396 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Washita County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.5% | 2025 2.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 17.5% | 2024 16.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,594 | 2024 $59,351 |
The table uses 2.9% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% 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 Washita County's history
1891
Created in 1891. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 29,435. The 2020 Census counted 10,924, 37% of the peak. Census Bureau
1948
Nation's first flood control dam under Flood Control Act of 1944, completed in Cloud Creek Watershed in Washita County in 1948. Wikipedia
2001
A tornado in October 2001 did $100 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1973
37 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Washita County, 20 of them for flooding. FEMA
Washita County beside its neighbors
Of the four counties that border Washita County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Washita County ranks 3rd of the five; Kiowa County is highest, at 38.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beckham County, OK | 74 | 20.2% | 29.2% |
| Kiowa County, OK | 73 | 22.2% | 38.4% |
| Caddo County, OK | 65 | 18.9% | 36.0% |
| Washita County, OK | 55 | 16.3% | 33.2% |
| Custer County, OK | 44 | 16.1% | 24.1% |
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 Washita County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Washita County's poverty rate was 16.3% in 2024, 43rd 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, Washita County ranks 52nd of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Washita 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 Washita 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 Washita County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.