Cotton County, Oklahoma

• Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
• Elevated poverty: At 20.5%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 12.6 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
• Aging population: Median age of 42 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest sector: Construction employs 215 workers (41.6% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $74,450.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $209M (2024).
• Wage stratification: Construction averages $74,450 while Retail Trade averages $23,823, a 3.1x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers concentrates at 6.97x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
• Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 1.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
• High home ownership: 80.3% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Elevated vacancy: 24.4% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
• Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,461/mo).

• Succession risk is real: 28.5% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 58.2% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
• Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 16,669 annual credentials.

Cotton County shows strong potential for gasoline stations and fuel dealers attraction, with a 6.97x concentration and 92 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 28.5% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.