Cotton County, Oklahoma
Above the national median of residents with debt in collections — and 21.7× the rate of the healthiest U.S. county (Logan County, ND — 2%).
Main Findings
Cotton County, Oklahoma is more distressed than 75% of U.S. counties on the County Distress Index. The driver: 42% of residents with a credit file carry debt in collections — above the national median of 23%. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal and its lowest is Debt Burden (housing basis).
- 33rd of 77 counties in Oklahoma on the County Distress Index — 75 · high county distress, more distressed than 75% of U.S. counties.
- 42% of residents with a credit file carry debt in collections (U.S. median 23%). Debt in collections at the 95th percentile nationally. Source: Urban Institute Debt in America (2025).
- Disability rate at 25% — national median 16%, ranked at the 95th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
- Subprime credit share at 34% — national median 23%, ranked at the 85th percentile. Source: Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025).
- Adults 25-54 not working at 29% — national median 21%, ranked at the 87th percentile. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024).
Neighbors span four CDI score labels. The 49-point drop to Clay County, TX marks a cross-border distress gradient.
Cotton County has a high county distress score. The score label gives the intensity; the rank gives the national position.
The CDI gives this county a high county distress label. The rank belongs beside the score because the two answer different questions: score intensity and national position. Its highest-scoring domain is Default & Legal.
Indicator History
Period-correct raw indicators from the county-history panel. The CDI composite is excluded because it is a current cross-sectional score.
Unemployment rate
Poverty rate
Transfer income share
Subprime credit population
The Indicators Behind Cotton County's CDI Score
Every number traces to a public source. Cotton County's value shown alongside OK's median and the U.S. median. Full CSV available for download.
| Indicator | Cotton | OK median | U.S. median | Pctile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delinquency — domain score 64 · Rank 1,079 of 3,144 | |||||
| Auto loan delinquency Share of auto loan accounts 60+ days past due | 7% | 7% | 5% | 71st | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Credit card delinquency Share of credit card accounts 60+ days past due | 5% | 6% | 5% | 36th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Subprime credit share Share of residents with a credit score below 660 | 34% | 30% | 23% | 85th | Equifax data retrieved via FRED (2025) |
| Default & Legal — domain score 87 · Rank 207 of 3,144 | |||||
| Debt in collections Share of residents with a credit file who have debt in collections | 42% | 31% | 23% | 95th | Urban Institute Debt in America (2025) |
| Bankruptcy filing rate Personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents | 221 | 147 | 126 | 80th | Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, F-5A (2025) |
| Debt Burden (housing basis) — domain score 34 · Rank 2,302 of 3,144 | |||||
| Rent-to-income ratio Fair Market Rent (2BR) as share of median household income | 21% | 20% | 21% | 48th | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents (FY2027); U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Severe rent burden (50%+) Share of renter households paying 50%+ of income on rent | 12% | 16% | 18% | 19th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Labor — domain score 62 · Rank 1,078 of 3,144 | |||||
| Adults 25-54 not working Share of adults aged 25 to 54 without a job, leaving out residents of prisons and other institutions (service members count as working) | 29% | 26% | 21% | 87th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Unemployment (average of monthly rates) Share of labor force unemployed, averaged over the monthly rates published for September 2025 to August 2026 (no figures published for October 2025) | 4% | 4% | 4% | 37th | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS (monthly rates averaged, September 2025 to August 2026; no figures published for October 2025) |
| Safety Net & Buffer — domain score 78 · Rank 471 of 3,144 | |||||
| Child poverty rate Share of children under 18 below the federal poverty line | 23% | 22% | 17% | 76th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Disability rate Share of residents reporting a disability | 25% | 20% | 16% | 95th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
| Poverty rate Share of population below the federal poverty line | 17% | 17% | 13% | 76th | U.S. Census Bureau, SAIPE (2024) |
| Uninsured rate Share of residents without health insurance coverage | 9% | 13% | 8% | 57th | U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year (2024) |
Five-Domain Breakdown
The CDI is an equal-weight composite of five family-v1 distress domains. Each domain contributes 20% of the county score.
Methodology
The County Distress Index scores household financial distress from 0 to 100 for all 3,144 U.S. counties. A county's score is the share of U.S. counties it is more distressed than. The index is built from five equal-weighted domains: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Each domain is the mean of distress-oriented indicator percentiles; the five domains are averaged, and that average is ranked against every other county to give the score.
Data sources include the Urban Institute Debt in America (Equifax consumer credit panel), Equifax data retrieved via FRED (subprime credit share), U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Local Area Unemployment Statistics), Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (F-5A bankruptcy filings), and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents. Data vintages range from 2024 to 2027 depending on source; full indicator-level vintage detail is in the methodology document.
For Press & Research
Everything you need to cite Cotton County data.
Draft wire copy 130-word AP-style article — use freely with attribution
WALTERS, Okla. — Cotton County is more distressed than 75% of U.S. counties, according to the County Distress Index released this month by American Default Research.
Cotton scores 75 out of 100, which means it is more distressed than 75% of U.S. counties; its score label is high county distress. Within Oklahoma, Cotton ranks 33rd of 77 counties.
The index, which draws on 14 source indicators from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Urban Institute and federal court filings, identifies default & legal as the primary driver in Cotton. 42% of residents with a credit file carry debt in collections — above the national median of 23%.
American Default Research founder Ross Kilburn is available for interview at press@americandefault.org.
Full methodology and county-by-county data are available at americandefault.org/methodology/cdi.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cotton County's CDI score, and what does it mean?
What drives Cotton County's distress score?
How does Cotton County compare to its neighbors?
How is the County Distress Index calculated?
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