About one in three people in Wheeler County, Oregon, has a disability
In Wheeler County, 32.7% of people reported a disability. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 51% of U.S. counties.
What drives Wheeler County's score
In Wheeler County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 72.6. About one in four adults aged 25 to 54 (25.6%, 2020 to 2024) isn't working, a higher share than in 76% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 67.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Wheeler 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.
Wheeler County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.2%, 2020 to 2024) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (7.6%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.6 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202668th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.6% · 2020 to 202476th percentile
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- 67.8 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line17.1% · 202476th percentile
- Children below the poverty line23.6% · 202477th percentile
- People with a disability32.7% · 2020 to 2024top 5%
- People without health insurance3.2% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$54,011 · 202484th percentile
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- 49.2 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector15.7% · August 202521st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people208.9 · 202576th percentile
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- 37.4 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 rent7.6% · 2020 to 20247th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income22.5% · fiscal year 202767th percentile
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- 28.9 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202534th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202530th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score32.9% · second quarter of 202621st 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 Wheeler 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 Wheeler County, 38.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Wheeler County
Oregon
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Wheeler County had its largest rise, from 29.0% in 2004 to 36.6% in 2009.
In Wheeler County, benefit checks brought in more than pay in one of the bars shown, but pay leads in 2024
In Wheeler County, Oregon, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 39.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Wheeler County getting SNAP food aid rose most in two steps: 14.9% in 2017 to 18.3% in 2018; 14.2% in 2020 to 17.6% in 2021.
The share of households in Wheeler County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen to 11.1%
Low on the chart: 8.6% 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, Wheeler County, Oregon.
How Wheeler County has changed
Wheeler County's population fell most sharply after its 1974 high, from 1,892 in 1974 to 1,636 in 1979.
Wheeler County's population fell by about a quarter from 1969 to 2019, reaching 1,408, then turned up in 2024
High on the chart: 1,892 in 1974. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Wheeler County, Oregon.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Wheeler County rose 29% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 352. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Wheeler County, Oregon.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 10.3% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 13.4% | 2024 17.1% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,421 | 2024 $54,011 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% 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 Wheeler County's history
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 3,313. The 2020 Census counted 1,451, 44% of the peak. Census Bureau
1997
Lightning in May 1997 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2019
A flood in April 2019 did $1 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1964
12 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Wheeler County, 6 of them for flooding. FEMA
Wheeler County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Wheeler County, four score higher. Of the group, Wheeler County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (39.0%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, OR | 72 | 13.7% | 38.0% |
| Wasco County, OR | 67 | 12.8% | 29.2% |
| Grant County, OR | 53 | 13.4% | 34.1% |
| Crook County, OR | 52 | 11.3% | 29.8% |
| Wheeler County, OR | 51 | 17.1% | 39.0% |
| Gilliam County, OR | 36 | 11.5% | 24.7% |
| Morrow County, OR | 33 | 11.5% | 23.6% |
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 Wheeler County the poorest county in Oregon?
No, Wheeler County's poverty rate was 17.1% in 2024, 3rd highest of 36 in Oregon (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Malheur County, at 18.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Wheeler County ranks 22nd of 36 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Wheeler 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 Oregon
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 Wheeler 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 Wheeler County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.