John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
John Lettieri, President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group | Official Website
These payments—which include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and income maintenance—accounted for 35.2% of all personal income in the county, according to information from the Economic Innovation Group.
This marks a slight increase in the county’s reliance on government transfers compared to 2012, when such payments made up 30.8% of total income. Since then, the share has risen by 4.4%.
Government transfer payments are non-repayable funds provided by federal, state, or local governments to support individuals in need. These payments aim to stabilize economic conditions and provide financial support during hardships. Key programs include Social Security transfers (retirement benefits), Medicare transfers (healthcare for seniors), Medicaid transfers (healthcare for low-income individuals), and income maintenance transfers (financial assistance for basic needs).
In 2022, government transfers in Atoka County primarily focused on older adults—such as Social Security transfers, which totaled $55.2 million (30.7% of all transfer income), and Medicare, which accounted for $47.9 million (26.7%)—played a significant role in the county's overall income.
On a per capita basis, Social Security payments rose from $3,411 in 2012 and $877 in 1970 to $3,869 in 2022, reflecting a 13.4% increase over the past decade and a 341.2% shift since 1970.
Similarly, Medicare transfers climbed from $3,209 in 2012 and $273 in 1970 to $3,358, marking 4.6% and 1,130% increases, respectively.
These increases in per capita payments align with shifts in the county’s age distribution. In 2022, residents aged 65 and older made up 19.3% of the total population, compared to 17.4% in 2012 and 14.2% in 1970. While the senior share of the population has increased, the rise in per capita Social Security and Medicare transfers suggests that these assistance programs for older adults now require a larger share of government funding—either due to growing needs, expanded eligibility, higher benefit levels, or increased enrollment.
According to the Economic Innovation Group, total income in Atoka County excluding public assistance amounted to $23,231 per capita in 2022, compared to $35,823 when government transfers were included.
Breaking down the other contributions in the county, Medicaid transfers made up $32.3 million, a 18% share of total income, while income maintenance programs, including assistance such as SNAP or TANF, added another $24 million, or 13.3% of the total.
Compared to the previous year, Atoka County's reliance on government transfers decreased by 3%.
Government transfers have long been a modest financial safety net, historically comprising only a small fraction of Americans' income. However, since the 1970s—sometimes dubbed the “Great Transfer-mation”—dependency has surged from 8.2% (or $2,016 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,529 per capita) in 2022 nationwide.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | State Rank (Per Capita Transfers) | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McIntosh County | 1 | 43.13% | 25% | 30.9% | 26.6% | 16.9% | 10.2% | $18,476 |
| Haskell County | 2 | 38.43% | 20.66% | 29.4% | 26.7% | 17% | 12.9% | $16,964 |
| Pushmataha County | 3 | 43% | 22.91% | 29.8% | 28% | 16.5% | 11.8% | $16,919 |
| Jefferson County | 4 | 41.1% | 20.91% | 29.3% | 31.1% | 14.7% | 14.2% | $16,781 |
| Choctaw County | 5 | 41.83% | 20.82% | 27.4% | 28.5% | 18% | 14.7% | $16,507 |
| Okmulgee County | 6 | 38.36% | 18.49% | 28.5% | 25.3% | 22% | 12.7% | $16,347 |
| Muskogee County | 7 | 36.36% | 17.14% | 26.8% | 24.1% | 21.2% | 12.8% | $16,264 |
| Craig County | 8 | 37.15% | 19.58% | 30.2% | 21.5% | 25.5% | 12% | $16,214 |
| Latimer County | 9 | 40.86% | 21.53% | 29.7% | 17.7% | 24.1% | 9.5% | $16,001 |
| Sequoyah County | 10 | 36.4% | 18.58% | 28.4% | 24.1% | 19.7% | 13.4% | $15,906 |
| Okfuskee County | 11 | 41% | 18.24% | 25.7% | 25.6% | 25.3% | 12.3% | $15,727 |
| Johnston County | 12 | 34.48% | 18.65% | 28.2% | 28.3% | 19% | 12.2% | $15,674 |
| Adair County | 13 | 37.26% | 15.75% | 24.8% | 22.2% | 25.6% | 18% | $15,523 |
| Ottawa County | 14 | 33.48% | 17.98% | 31.7% | 22.2% | 20.2% | 12.9% | $15,522 |
| Kiowa County | 15 | 34.7% | 20.94% | 30.6% | 25.4% | 19.1% | 13.4% | $15,480 |
| Seminole County | 16 | 35.48% | 18.43% | 27.1% | 24.3% | 22.8% | 14.6% | $15,312 |
| Harmon County | 17 | 31.48% | 20.61% | 27.8% | 29.4% | 19.3% | 14% | $15,041 |
| Pawnee County | 18 | 34.42% | 20.27% | 34.1% | 25.8% | 18.5% | 11% | $14,964 |
| Caddo County | 19 | 33.68% | 15.92% | 27.2% | 29.4% | 18.4% | 12.5% | $14,926 |
| Le Flore County | 20 | 35.88% | 17.86% | 27.4% | 26.4% | 17.7% | 14.2% | $14,872 |
| Nowata County | 21 | 33.49% | 19.39% | 33.4% | 24.5% | 18% | 13.5% | $14,796 |
| Delaware County | 22 | 33.76% | 25.35% | 34.2% | 26.9% | 15.4% | 10.8% | $14,749 |
| Hughes County | 23 | 31.47% | 18.4% | 28.5% | 26.9% | 22.2% | 10.7% | $14,737 |
| Marshall County | 24 | 32.71% | 22% | 33.2% | 28.4% | 15.6% | 10.4% | $14,690 |
| McCurtain County | 25 | 33.37% | 17.57% | 29% | 24.2% | 19.9% | 16% | $14,636 |
| Garvin County | 26 | 29.46% | 18% | 32% | 27.4% | 16.9% | 11.9% | $14,609 |
| Mayes County | 27 | 32.52% | 18.84% | 31.3% | 24.4% | 20.3% | 11.3% | $14,569 |
| Coal County | 28 | 33.71% | 21.36% | 26% | 30.8% | 21.8% | 12% | $14,430 |
| Cotton County | 29 | 29.74% | 20.26% | 31.7% | 27.5% | 15.5% | 10.8% | $14,289 |
| Kay County | 30 | 29.46% | 19.37% | 32.2% | 25.8% | 17.9% | 12.9% | $14,266 |
| Blaine County | 31 | 27.89% | 20.62% | 32.8% | 30.2% | 14.8% | 12.7% | $14,072 |
| Pontotoc County | 32 | 26.3% | 17.22% | 28.1% | 25.9% | 23.3% | 11.4% | $13,941 |
| Greer County | 33 | 40.87% | 17.38% | 27.6% | 34.9% | 14.8% | 11.5% | $13,915 |
| Stephens County | 34 | 28.56% | 20.52% | 34.1% | 25.1% | 15.8% | 11.1% | $13,893 |
| Pittsburg County | 35 | 32.32% | 20% | 30.8% | 23.7% | 19.3% | 11.9% | $13,729 |
| Carter County | 36 | 27.17% | 16.97% | 32.4% | 27.5% | 17.4% | 12.5% | $13,721 |
| Murray County | 37 | 27.12% | 21% | 33% | 27.7% | 17.2% | 9.6% | $13,485 |
| Ellis County | 38 | 21.87% | 24.3% | 36.7% | 30.6% | 14.5% | 8.3% | $13,196 |
| Washington County | 39 | 13.52% | 20% | 35.8% | 24.3% | 17.1% | 12.2% | $13,032 |
| Creek County | 40 | 26.92% | 18.48% | 34.3% | 24.4% | 18.4% | 11.5% | $12,981 |
| Cherokee County | 41 | 31% | 17.79% | 28.8% | 21.3% | 24% | 12.1% | $12,969 |
| Pottawatomie County | 42 | 27.21% | 16.62% | 30% | 23.9% | 19.4% | 13.1% | $12,951 |
| Harper County | 43 | 19.91% | 20.22% | 41% | 31.7% | 9.7% | 7.9% | $12,915 |
| Tillman County | 44 | 37.49% | 20.67% | 31.1% | 26.3% | 14.7% | 15.2% | $12,860 |
| Dewey County | 45 | 25.49% | 18.8% | 36.7% | 30.9% | 14.7% | 8.2% | $12,754 |
| Lincoln County | 46 | 28% | 19.34% | 33.9% | 26.6% | 14.8% | 11.6% | $12,744 |
| Noble County | 47 | 25.83% | 21.25% | 35.3% | 27.2% | 18.5% | 9.6% | $12,639 |
| Atoka County | 48 | 35.15% | 19.29% | 30.7% | 26.7% | 18% | 13.3% | $12,592 |
| Washita County | 49 | 31% | 19.84% | 31.8% | 25.9% | 17.1% | 12.5% | $12,450 |
| Comanche County | 50 | 26% | 13.63% | 24.4% | 17.5% | 13.2% | 12.7% | $12,414 |
| Bryan County | 51 | 27.89% | 17.36% | 29.3% | 28.4% | 17.4% | 11.1% | $12,401 |
| Love County | 52 | 28.55% | 19% | 35.5% | 28.7% | 14% | 11.6% | $12,378 |
| Grant County | 53 | 24.63% | 22.49% | 39.6% | 28.3% | 12.1% | 7.9% | $12,207 |
| Jackson County | 54 | 24.39% | 15.7% | 27% | 23.6% | 13.7% | 13.7% | $11,927 |
| Garfield County | 55 | 24.16% | 16.79% | 32.2% | 25.3% | 16.8% | 13.3% | $11,807 |
| Cimarron County | 56 | 16.15% | 24.85% | 39.9% | 34.1% | 6.7% | 10.3% | $11,592 |
| Major County | 57 | 24.43% | 21.4% | 39.6% | 28.7% | 11.5% | 9.7% | $11,368 |
| Roger Mills County | 58 | 23.8% | 22.48% | 36.5% | 32.1% | 11.2% | 10.6% | $11,222 |
| Beckham County | 59 | 28.59% | 15.69% | 32.6% | 26.4% | 18.7% | 13.3% | $11,071 |
| Kingfisher County | 60 | 15.33% | 16.71% | 36.8% | 26.8% | 16.4% | 9% | $11,025 |
| Custer County | 61 | 22.94% | 14.67% | 30.9% | 24.3% | 17.9% | 12.6% | $10,869 |
| Oklahoma County | 62 | 15.93% | 14.44% | 30.1% | 23.3% | 18.2% | 14.2% | $10,843 |
| McClain County | 63 | 19.14% | 15.58% | 34% | 25.4% | 12.8% | 9.7% | $10,733 |
| Tulsa County | 64 | 15.27% | 15.13% | 33.5% | 24.3% | 17.5% | 12.4% | $10,697 |
| Rogers County | 65 | 19.98% | 17.23% | 39.2% | 22.5% | 14.4% | 9.6% | $10,559 |
| Woods County | 66 | 22% | 17.74% | 34.5% | 30% | 11.9% | 8.4% | $10,553 |
| Woodward County | 67 | 25.83% | 17% | 35.7% | 27.4% | 13% | 11.5% | $10,460 |
| Grady County | 68 | 21.7% | 16.88% | 35.5% | 25.6% | 13.6% | 11.5% | $10,445 |
| Wagoner County | 69 | 20.79% | 17% | 36.8% | 25.6% | 13.3% | 9.4% | $10,347 |
| Osage County | 70 | 23.57% | 21.45% | 43.1% | 25.1% | 9.5% | 11.9% | $10,249 |
| Alfalfa County | 71 | 23.72% | 19.99% | 38.2% | 30.6% | 10.8% | 8.1% | $9,941 |
| Beaver County | 72 | 14.73% | 20% | 38.3% | 33% | 9.5% | 9.3% | $9,672 |
| Cleveland County | 73 | 18% | 14.89% | 35% | 22.6% | 12.9% | 11.1% | $9,358 |
| Payne County | 74 | 20.49% | 13.2% | 32.8% | 23.5% | 17.6% | 10.5% | $9,307 |
| Logan County | 75 | 18.55% | 17.45% | 38.9% | 21% | 13.4% | 10.8% | $8,991 |
| Canadian County | 76 | 15.18% | 13.58% | 36.4% | 23.7% | 12.4% | 10.3% | $8,179 |
| Texas County | 77 | 12.39% | 12.55% | 33.8% | 25.3% | 12% | 16.4% | $7,491 |
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