In Woods County, Oklahoma, rent on a two-bedroom takes about one in six dollars of the typical household's income
In Woods County, 17.5% of the typical household's income would go to rent on a two-bedroom. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 65% of U.S. counties.
What drives Woods County's score
In Woods County, income and the safety net is the highest-scoring part, at 51.5. Collections and bankruptcy is the lowest part, at 26.6. Bankruptcy filings ran at 46.7 per 100,000 people (2025), lower than in 91% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Woods 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, Woods County is worse off than most counties on renters paying half their income or more in rent (23.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 51.5 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.9% · 202464th percentile
- Children below the poverty line16.2% · 202445th percentile
- People with a disability15.6% · 2020 to 202446th percentile
- People without health insurance7.6% · 2020 to 202447th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$65,351 · 202454th percentile
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- 49.2 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 rent23.6% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.5% · fiscal year 202717th percentile
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- 46.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.6% · August 202551st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind3.8% · August 202528th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.7% · second quarter of 202658th percentile
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- 31.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202622nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working19.1% · 2020 to 202440th percentile
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- 26.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.7% · August 202544th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people46.7 · 20258th 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 Woods 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 Woods County, 17.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Woods County
Oklahoma
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Woods County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 24.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Woods County, Oklahoma, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 24.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Woods County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 10.1% in 2020 to 6.3% in 2021.
The share of households in Woods County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2023 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 5.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Woods County, Oklahoma.
How Woods County has changed
Woods County's population fell 30% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1984 to 1989, reaching 9,216. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Woods County, Oklahoma.
The number of jobs located in Woods County had its largest rise, from 3,061 in 2010 to 3,987 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Woods County was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a fifth
High on the chart: 3,987 in 2015. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Woods County, Oklahoma.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 2.9% | 2025 2.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.5% | 2024 14.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,395 | 2024 $65,351 |
The table uses 2.7% for 2025; the score uses 3.3% 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 Woods County's history
1893
Created in 1893. Wikipedia
1897
Northwestern Territorial Normal School, now Northwestern Oklahoma State University, established in 1897. Wikipedia
1900
The county's largest recorded population was the 1900 Census count of 34,975. The 2020 Census counted 8,624, 25% of the peak. Census Bureau
1943
Camp Alva prisoner of war camp for German POWs established July 19, 1943. Wikipedia
1998
A flash flood in October 1998 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1993
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Woods County, 10 of them for flooding. FEMA
Woods County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Woods County, in Oklahoma and Kansas, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Woods County ranks 6th of the seven; Barber County is highest, at 30.3%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodward County, OK | 41 | 15.0% | 26.5% |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 40 | 18.1% | 26.0% |
| Woods County, OK | 34 | 14.9% | 24.1% |
| Comanche County, KS | 32 | 11.8% | 30.1% |
| Major County, OK | 27 | 12.5% | 25.3% |
| Harper County, OK | 26 | 11.2% | 20.5% |
| Barber County, KS | 7 | 10.0% | 30.3% |
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 Woods County the poorest county in Oklahoma?
No, Woods County's poverty rate was 14.9% in 2024, 53rd 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, Woods County ranks 70th of 77 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Woods 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 Woods County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.