In 2022, Social Security transfers in Tulsa County totaled $2.43 billion, amounting to $3,582 per capita, or 33.5% of total government transfers, according to information from the Economic Innovation Group.
Among all government transfer programs, Social Security was the largest contributor in the county. Medicare was the second largest contributor, totaling $1.76 billion, equating to $2,598 per capita and making up 24.3% of total transfers.
Comparatively, Social Security transfers across Oklahoma amounted to $14.98 billion, ranking highest among all transfer types within the state. This translates to an average of $3,727 per capita, or 32% of total government transfers. Including all transfer types, government transfer payments totaled $46.84 billion, accounting for 20.7% of residents’ total income, with an average of $11,654 per resident.
Medicaid was the third largest contributor in Tulsa County in 2022, accounting for $1.27 billion, averaging $1,875 per capita, representing 17.5% of transfers. Income Maintenance transfers provided another $895.99 million, averaging $1,323 per capita and comprising 12.4% of government support, making them the smallest contributors.
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).
With 15.1% of the population aged 65 and older, Tulsa County has a significant demand for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Despite this aid, the total per capita income in Tulsa County, excluding government transfers was $59,367, which is noticeably below the county’s total income of $70,064, emphasizing the role of government transfers in overall income.
When comparing 2022 to the previous year, Tulsa County saw an increase in its Social Security transfer dependency by 0.2%, reflecting both rising transfer amounts and stagnating or insufficient other sources of income.
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 $2,022 per capita in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars) in 1970 to 17.6% (or $11,542 per capita) in 2022 nationwide. In Tulsa County, reliance on government transfers has similarly increased from 7.5% (or $1,880 per capita) in 1970 to 15.3% (or $10,697 per capita) in 2022.
According to the Economic Innovation Group’s analysis, these trends are not merely short-term responses to economic pressures but rather reflect a profound, long-term transformation in how government support is integrated into American life. The study illustrates that structural shifts—from rising healthcare expenses and demographic changes to stagnant wages—have significantly increased dependency on government transfers.
| County | Rank | Dependency on Transfers (%) | % Population 65+ | Social Security Transfers (%) | Medicare Transfers (%) | Medicaid Transfers (%) | Income Maintenance Transfers (%) | Per Capita Transfers ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma County | 1 | 15.9% | 14.4% | 4.8% | 3.7% | 2.9% | 2.3% | $10,843 |
| Tulsa County | 2 | 15.3% | 15.1% | 5.1% | 3.7% | 2.7% | 1.9% | $10,697 |
| Cleveland County | 3 | 18.1% | 14.9% | 6.3% | 4.1% | 2.3% | 2% | $9,358 |
| Comanche County | 4 | 26% | 13.6% | 6.3% | 4.6% | 3.4% | 3.3% | $12,414 |
| Canadian County | 5 | 15.2% | 13.6% | 5.5% | 3.6% | 1.9% | 1.6% | $8,179 |
| Muskogee County | 6 | 36.4% | 17.1% | 9.7% | 8.8% | 7.7% | 4.7% | $16,264 |
| Rogers County | 7 | 20% | 17.2% | 7.8% | 4.5% | 2.9% | 1.9% | $10,559 |
| Pottawatomie County | 8 | 27.2% | 16.6% | 8.2% | 6.5% | 5.3% | 3.6% | $12,951 |
| Creek County | 9 | 26.9% | 18.5% | 9.2% | 6.6% | 4.9% | 3.1% | $12,981 |
| Wagoner County | 10 | 20.8% | 17.1% | 7.7% | 5.3% | 2.8% | 2% | $10,347 |
| Payne County | 11 | 20.5% | 13.2% | 6.7% | 4.8% | 3.6% | 2.2% | $9,307 |
| Garfield County | 12 | 24.2% | 16.8% | 7.8% | 6.1% | 4.1% | 3.2% | $11,807 |
| Le Flore County | 13 | 35.9% | 17.9% | 9.8% | 9.5% | 6.3% | 5.1% | $14,872 |
| Washington County | 14 | 13.5% | 20% | 4.8% | 3.3% | 2.3% | 1.7% | $13,032 |
| Carter County | 15 | 27.2% | 17% | 8.8% | 7.5% | 4.7% | 3.4% | $13,721 |
| Sequoyah County | 16 | 36.4% | 18.6% | 10.3% | 8.8% | 7.2% | 4.9% | $15,906 |
| Cherokee County | 17 | 31.1% | 17.8% | 8.9% | 6.6% | 7.5% | 3.8% | $12,969 |
| Kay County | 18 | 29.5% | 19.4% | 9.5% | 7.6% | 5.3% | 3.8% | $14,266 |
| Delaware County | 19 | 33.8% | 25.4% | 11.5% | 9.1% | 5.2% | 3.7% | $14,749 |
| Stephens County | 20 | 28.6% | 20.5% | 9.7% | 7.2% | 4.5% | 3.2% | $13,893 |
| Okmulgee County | 21 | 38.4% | 18.5% | 11% | 9.7% | 8.4% | 4.9% | $16,347 |
| Pittsburg County | 22 | 32.3% | 20.1% | 9.9% | 7.7% | 6.2% | 3.8% | $13,729 |
| Bryan County | 23 | 27.9% | 17.4% | 8.2% | 7.9% | 4.8% | 3.1% | $12,401 |
| Grady County | 24 | 21.7% | 16.9% | 7.7% | 5.6% | 3% | 2.5% | $10,445 |
| Mayes County | 25 | 32.5% | 18.8% | 10.2% | 7.9% | 6.6% | 3.7% | $14,569 |
| Pontotoc County | 26 | 26.3% | 17.2% | 7.4% | 6.8% | 6.1% | 3% | $13,941 |
| McClain County | 27 | 19.1% | 15.6% | 6.5% | 4.9% | 2.4% | 1.9% | $10,733 |
| Ottawa County | 28 | 33.5% | 18% | 10.6% | 7.4% | 6.7% | 4.3% | $15,522 |
| Osage County | 29 | 23.6% | 21.5% | 10.2% | 5.9% | 2.2% | 2.8% | $10,249 |
| Logan County | 30 | 18.6% | 17.5% | 7.2% | 3.9% | 2.5% | 2% | $8,991 |
| McCurtain County | 31 | 33.4% | 17.6% | 9.7% | 8.1% | 6.6% | 5.3% | $14,636 |
| Lincoln County | 32 | 28.1% | 19.3% | 9.5% | 7.5% | 4.2% | 3.2% | $12,744 |
| Caddo County | 33 | 33.7% | 15.9% | 9.2% | 9.9% | 6.2% | 4.2% | $14,926 |
| Garvin County | 34 | 29.5% | 18.1% | 9.4% | 8.1% | 5% | 3.5% | $14,609 |
| McIntosh County | 35 | 43.1% | 25.1% | 13.3% | 11.5% | 7.3% | 4.4% | $18,476 |
| Seminole County | 36 | 35.5% | 18.4% | 9.6% | 8.6% | 8.1% | 5.2% | $15,312 |
| Adair County | 37 | 37.3% | 15.8% | 9.2% | 8.3% | 9.6% | 6.7% | $15,523 |
| Custer County | 38 | 22.9% | 14.7% | 7.1% | 5.6% | 4.1% | 2.9% | $10,869 |
| Jackson County | 39 | 24.4% | 15.7% | 6.6% | 5.8% | 3.3% | 3.3% | $11,927 |
| Beckham County | 40 | 28.6% | 15.7% | 9.3% | 7.5% | 5.4% | 3.8% | $11,071 |
| Choctaw County | 41 | 41.8% | 20.8% | 11.5% | 11.9% | 7.5% | 6.2% | $16,507 |
| Pawnee County | 42 | 34.4% | 20.3% | 11.7% | 8.9% | 6.4% | 3.8% | $14,964 |
| Marshall County | 43 | 32.7% | 22.1% | 10.9% | 9.3% | 5.1% | 3.4% | $14,690 |
| Craig County | 44 | 37.2% | 19.6% | 11.2% | 8% | 9.5% | 4.5% | $16,214 |
| Woodward County | 45 | 25.8% | 17% | 9.2% | 7.1% | 3.4% | 3% | $10,460 |
| Hughes County | 46 | 31.5% | 18.4% | 9% | 8.5% | 7% | 3.4% | $14,737 |
| Haskell County | 47 | 38.4% | 20.7% | 11.3% | 10.3% | 6.5% | 5% | $16,964 |
| Murray County | 48 | 27.1% | 21% | 8.9% | 7.5% | 4.7% | 2.6% | $13,485 |
| Pushmataha County | 49 | 43.1% | 22.9% | 12.8% | 12.1% | 7.1% | 5.1% | $16,919 |
| Atoka County | 50 | 35.2% | 19.3% | 10.8% | 9.4% | 6.3% | 4.7% | $12,592 |
| Okfuskee County | 51 | 41% | 18.2% | 10.5% | 10.5% | 10.4% | 5% | $15,727 |
| Kingfisher County | 52 | 15.3% | 16.7% | 5.6% | 4.1% | 2.5% | 1.4% | $11,025 |
| Johnston County | 53 | 34.5% | 18.7% | 9.7% | 9.7% | 6.6% | 4.2% | $15,674 |
| Latimer County | 54 | 40.9% | 21.5% | 12.1% | 7.3% | 9.8% | 3.9% | $16,001 |
| Texas County | 55 | 12.4% | 12.6% | 4.2% | 3.1% | 1.5% | 2% | $7,491 |
| Nowata County | 56 | 33.5% | 19.4% | 11.2% | 8.2% | 6% | 4.5% | $14,796 |
| Noble County | 57 | 25.8% | 21.3% | 9.1% | 7% | 4.8% | 2.5% | $12,639 |
| Washita County | 58 | 31.1% | 19.8% | 9.9% | 8% | 5.3% | 3.9% | $12,450 |
| Kiowa County | 59 | 34.7% | 20.9% | 10.6% | 8.8% | 6.6% | 4.6% | $15,480 |
| Love County | 60 | 28.6% | 19% | 10.1% | 8.2% | 4% | 3.3% | $12,378 |
| Blaine County | 61 | 27.9% | 20.6% | 9.1% | 8.4% | 4.1% | 3.5% | $14,072 |
| Woods County | 62 | 22.1% | 17.7% | 7.6% | 6.6% | 2.6% | 1.9% | $10,553 |
| Jefferson County | 63 | 41.1% | 20.9% | 12.1% | 12.8% | 6.1% | 5.8% | $16,781 |
| Tillman County | 64 | 37.5% | 20.7% | 11.7% | 9.9% | 5.5% | 5.7% | $12,860 |
| Major County | 65 | 24.4% | 21.4% | 9.7% | 7% | 2.8% | 2.4% | $11,368 |
| Cotton County | 66 | 29.7% | 20.3% | 9.4% | 8.2% | 4.6% | 3.2% | $14,289 |
| Greer County | 67 | 40.9% | 17.4% | 11.3% | 14.3% | 6.1% | 4.7% | $13,915 |
| Coal County | 68 | 33.7% | 21.4% | 8.8% | 10.4% | 7.4% | 4% | $14,430 |
| Dewey County | 69 | 25.5% | 18.8% | 9.4% | 7.9% | 3.8% | 2.1% | $12,754 |
| Alfalfa County | 70 | 23.7% | 20% | 9.1% | 7.2% | 2.6% | 1.9% | $9,941 |
| Grant County | 71 | 24.6% | 22.5% | 9.8% | 7% | 3% | 1.9% | $12,207 |
| Beaver County | 72 | 14.7% | 20% | 5.6% | 4.9% | 1.4% | 1.4% | $9,672 |
| Ellis County | 73 | 21.9% | 24.3% | 8% | 6.7% | 3.2% | 1.8% | $13,196 |
| Harper County | 74 | 19.9% | 20.2% | 8.2% | 6.3% | 1.9% | 1.6% | $12,915 |
| Roger Mills County | 75 | 23.8% | 22.5% | 8.7% | 7.6% | 2.7% | 2.5% | $11,222 |
| Harmon County | 76 | 31.5% | 20.6% | 8.7% | 9.3% | 6.1% | 4.4% | $15,041 |
| Cimarron County | 77 | 16.2% | 24.9% | 6.4% | 5.5% | 1.1% | 1.7% | $11,592 |
