Poverty is deeply woven into the fabric of Oklahoma history.
Whether it is the result of tornadoes and dust bowls, oil industry booms and busts, a never-ending stream of bad guys or a century of ugly political feuds, poverty and its byproducts have shaped the Sooner State.
There is a persistent and worsening cycle of poverty in Oklahoma, set against a backdrop of rising population, stagnant wages, and political disagreement over how to address the problem. Despite some progress, such as increased workforce participation and expanded Medicaid, economic hardship continues to grow, particularly among children and formerly incarcerated individuals.
The state has two competing visions for addressing poverty: one focused on expanding social safety nets, housing, education, and healthcare, and the other emphasizing job creation and education reform to promote self-sufficiency.
Ultimately, the conflict is both ideological and systemic: how to break entrenched cycles of poverty in a state historically shaped by economic instability and inequality.
Data from the United States Census Bureau lists the state’s poverty rate at 16%, the sixth highest in the country. That number increased from 15.7% in 2022 to 15.9% in 2024.
Those numbers are significantly higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 15.2% from 2019, as reported by the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. A long-stagnant minimum wage, plus a growing population, can put a strain on state services to its low-income residents, the National Institutes of Health said.
“(An) increased population growth can put a strain on resources, potentially increasing competition for jobs and affordable housing, and leading to higher poverty rates,” a NIH study said.
People are considered impoverished if they earn $13,500 or less per year. For a family of four, the income level is $27,750.
Today, more than a century after that first Land Run, Oklahoma’s fight against poverty continues.
And poverty here is getting worse.
Growing population, growing problems
According to the United States Census Bureau, Oklahoma’s population has grown to a little over four million people. Of those, 262,609 are between the ages of five and nine.
The state’s childhood poverty rate, the Oklahoma Policy Institute reported, rose from 19.7% in 2022 to 20.8% in 2023.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services reported that 408,350 families received federal supplemental nutrition funds in 2022, translating to 855,165 Oklahomans, nearly a quarter of the state’s population, who needed federal assistance to purchase food.
But food insecurity isn’t the only issue.
Another example of the increasing poverty rate is the number of eviction filings.
Records from the Legal Aid Service’s Civil Court Data Initiative show Oklahoma and Tulsa County reported more than 100,000 eviction filings between March 2020 and March 2024.
In 2022 alone, the Eviction Lab reported 96,000 eviction filings statewide. Those numbers were high because rents had increased over the past few years while the minimum wage remained stagnant. A third issue, the 2021 expiration of the federal government’s eviction moratorium, made the problem even worse.
Limited progress and the need for action
Still, there has been progress in some areas.
A study released in January by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported that Oklahoma has shown increased workforce participation, rising incomes in both the Tulsa and the Oklahoma City metropolitan areas and a decrease in poverty rates in tribal areas, particularly among Native Americans, because more tribal members had entered the workforce.
In 2004, the state reported that about 64% of its labor force – anyone aged 15 or older who holds a job – was working. That number dropped dramatically in 2018 to just above 61%. Over the next six years, the number increased again, reaching 63% by 2024.
In addition, the state has seen some success in reducing the number of uninsured, due to a state question in 2020 that expanded Medicaid.
And while state policy changes, such as the cut in the grocery sales tax and the elimination of a handful of correctional fees, have provided small benefits, other efforts, such as updates to the state’s Landlord Tenant Act and the expansion of safety-net services, failed. Additionally, the state’s minimum wage remains low, while housing costs have increased.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Statistics showed that more than 3% of the state’s hourly workforce – 28,000 people – had jobs that paid the federal minimum wage or below in 2017. By 2024, that number had decreased to about 18,000.
Democrats said the Republican-controlled legislature and Gov. Kevin Stitt have been inconsistent in efforts to decrease the poverty rate. This year, the legislature passed a $12.6 billion budget but the House’s minority leader said it does little to reduce poverty.
State Rep. Cyndi Munson, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said she supported the cut in the grocery sales tax, but said this year’s budget doesn’t do much to help the one million Oklahomans who need assistance.
“This year, in particular, because many state agencies are being held flat,” she said.
Munson said flat agency budgets and the cut to the personal income tax, both of which were pushed by Stitt, may return a few dollars to taxpayers, but that cut in revenue could become a problem later if the federal government makes good on its threats to make states pay more for services.
“With the federal government shifting the cost burden on the states, it’s going to cost the state more,” Muson said. “If we have to pay for those federal programs, we’re not going to be able to better support or expand services that we provide at a state level.”
According to the state’s official website, Oklahoma offers several services to fight poverty including food assistance through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , SoonerCare, child care subsidies, and the Low-income Energy Assistance Program, which helps low-income individuals and families cover utility costs.
Republicans countered that they have taken several steps over the past several years to improve the lives of all Oklahomans.
Trey Caldwell, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the state’s budget addresses several areas related to poverty: stabilizing rural hospitals, increased job development efforts and record funding for Oklahoma’s education systems.
By creating more jobs that pay more than the federal minimum wage, the employment opportunities can help lower-paid Oklahomans transition to a higher-paid job, Caldwell said. He said a stronger educational system helps residents train and prepare for those jobs. Both policies, he said, help reduce poverty.
“We’ve increased education for six of the seven years I’ve been here,” he said. “We’ve hit an all-time high in education funding. Take a look at CareerTech, business and industries tell them they need employees trained in particular areas and the system moves to do that. Because those jobs pay much more than the minimum, everyone benefits.”
Legislative records underscore this. Over the past seven years, funding for common education has increased by more than 2% and per-pupil funding went from $9,067 in 2007 to $13,736 in 2023, almost exactly matching inflation. Part of that increase includes federal funding, which totals about $1.7 billion each year for Oklahoma.
“I’ve always been a firm believer that society needs a safety net,” Caldwell, a Republican, said. “But at the same we should be very cognizant that we should give people opportunities, not handouts.”
It doesn’t pay to be poor
Former Republican House Speaker Kris Steele has a deep understanding of state politics. Steele, the executive director of The Education and Employment Ministry, also has a deep understanding of poverty.
Steele said his organization is focused on breaking the cycles of incarceration and poverty through education, personal development and work readiness training.
At TEEM, he said, they suit up to fight the poverty battle every day.
On a recent day about a dozen people were in the TEEM waiting room. A few others stood outside the office door. Many have been brought from the Oklahoma County Detention Center to the TEEM headquarters.
They will get counseling, treatment and services; the goal is to help them transition back into society with housing and a job. Instead of continually cycling through the courts and the jail, those who are assisted by TEEM can be integrated back into the community where bill are paid, families reunited and the individual becomes productive.
“Good jobs help people,” Steele said.
Steele, who works with former inmates on a daily basis, said the best way to fight poverty in Oklahoma is to invest in people. That means job training, education and, most importantly, housing.
“I have yet to meet an Oklahoman who doesn’t want to do the work and doesn’t want to get better,” Steele said.
He said there are policies in Oklahoma that harm people who are poor. He pointed to the legal system as an example. Steele said that often, when a poor Oklahoman is charged with a crime, they are unable to afford the cost to post bond.
Consequently, the poor stay in jail longer than a person who can afford the cost of the bail bond. In addition, he said, many of those who have served their time and been released are so impoverished that they are unable to pay their fines and fees, which can result in that person being returned to jail simply because they cannot pay their fines.
Data from the Oklahoma Policy Institute shows that, in 2005, about 200 of every 100,000 state residents were placed in jail. During that same time, about 600 of every 100,000 were placed in prison. By 2022, the number for jails was near 300 for every 100,000, while the number for those placed in prison had risen to about 600 per 100,000.
“We punish those who are poor,” Steele said. “It’s debtor’s prison and that’s unconstitutional.”
The increase in population
The book, “Poverty, by America,” supports that.
“Poverty isn’t a line,” author Matthew Desmond wrote. “It’s a tight knot of social maladies. It is connected to every social problem we care about – crime, health, education, housing and security and – and its persistence in American life means that millions of families are denied safety and security and dignity in one of the richest nations in the history of the world.”
Steele remains optimistic. He said he believes the state can eventually lower the poverty rate. He urged the legislature to develop policies that expand housing opportunities for low-income residents and continue the push to improve the state’s educational system.
“I have yet to meet an Oklahoman who doesn’t want to do the work and doesn’t want to get better.”
Kris Steele, TEEM Executive Director
“I would recommend that we start with significant investments in affordable housing for our folks,” he said. “We have to invest in education for all Oklahomans. Access to health care for every Oklahoman. Transportation infrastructure so people can get to work and go where they need to be. It comes down to investments in ourselves and our infrastructure.”
The reality, Steel said, is that far too many Oklahomans are being left behind.
“At the end of the day, when those core issues can be addressed, I think the sky is the limit,” he said. “That would allow our state to break those generational cycles of poverty.”
Republished in partnership with Oklahoma Watch under a Creative Commons license. Free Press publishes this report as a collaborative effort to provide the best coverage of state issues that affect our readers.
M. Scott Carter covers housing, homelessness and evictions for Oklahoma Watch. Contact him at scarter@oklahomawatch.org or 405-589-1933.
