Who is the Payne County County Assessor?

Jason Gomez (Republican) is the County Assessor of Payne County, Oklahoma.

Who is the Payne County County Clerk?

Glenna Craig (Republican) is the County Clerk of Payne County, Oklahoma.

Who is the Payne County Court Clerk?

Lori Allen (Republican) is the Court Clerk of Payne County, Oklahoma.

Who is the Payne County Sheriff?

Joe Harper (Republican) is the Sheriff of Payne County, Oklahoma.

Who is the Payne County County Treasurer?

Lee R. Denney (Republican) is the County Treasurer of Payne County, Oklahoma.

Who are the Payne County commissioners?

Zachary Cavett (District 1); Seth Condley (District 2); Rhonda Markum (District 3).

What is the population of Payne County?

About 82,972 people, with a median age of 27.7; the median household income is $49,809 and 22.6% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Payne County?

3.6% in September 2026 (preliminary): 1,480 people unemployed in a labor force of 40,765, against 3.3% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Payne County?

25 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 6 municipal, 8 school district and 10 special district governments.

Payne County, OK elected officials: county commissioners, sheriff, school board and cities

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Payne County: 8 seats on 6 elected bodies.

Board of County Commissioners

Payne County Board of County Commissioners

Each member is elected by the voters of their district.

Office	Who holds it now
County Commissioner, District 1	Zachary Cavett Republican source
County Commissioner, District 2	Seth Condley Republican source
County Commissioner, District 3	Rhonda Markum Republican source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now
County Assessor	Jason Gomez Republican source
County Clerk	Glenna Craig Republican source
Court Clerk	Lori Allen Republican source
Sheriff	Joe Harper Republican source
County Treasurer	Lee R. Denney Republican source

How many local governments Payne County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 25 local governments in Payne County. This page lists the ones whose offices are elected.

Kind of government	Census count (2022)	Listed on this page
County government	1	1
Cities, towns, villages and townships	6	0
School districts (school boards)	8	0
Special districts (elected boards)	10	0

Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Government Units Listing (census.gov).

About these counts

The Census Bureau counts every independent local government once, in the county it assigns it to: the one it mostly serves or where it's based. A city or district that crosses county lines is counted in only one county, so it may be listed on this page but counted elsewhere, or the other way around. Many special districts, such as housing authorities, have appointed boards, and some places have more than one elected body, so the two columns measure different things. School systems run by a county, city or the state aren't counted as separate governments, though their boards may be listed here; in some states the Bureau counts community or state colleges as school districts. The counts are as of 2022.

Who lives in Payne County

82,972people

27.7median ageU.S.: 38.9

$49,809 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

22.6%below the U.S.: 12.5%

39.7%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$223,300median home valueU.S.: $332,700

5.7%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

6.3%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

5.1%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

11%U.S.: 8.4%

57%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

32.7%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 6.6% · White 73.5% · Black 3.5% · Asian 4.2% · Other or more than one race 12.2% (Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race; the other groups are non-Hispanic.)

Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates (data.census.gov).

About these figures

The American Community Survey asks about 3.5 million households a year about who lives there, their work, income, schooling and housing. The 5-year estimates pool 2020–2024 answers so that every county and district has enough of them. They're estimates with a (larger for smaller places), and they're different from the once-a-decade census count. "Median" means half are above and half below. Household income is before taxes and includes everyone in the household. The unemployment share here is the survey's five-year average, so it differs from the monthly rate in the BLS jobs report. Race and Hispanic origin are as people describe themselves.

Health insurance means any coverage, private or public (such as Medicaid or Medicare), when people answered; the share is of everyone except people on active military duty and people living in institutions such as prisons and nursing homes. The housing shares are of renting households, and of homeowners with a mortgage, for whom the Census Bureau can compute them (households with no income, or renters who pay no cash rent, are left out). Rent here is gross rent, rent plus utilities; owner costs include the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and fees.

Jobs in Payne County

3.6%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 3.3%. Oklahoma: 3.9%.

1,480people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

39,285people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

40,765in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	3.6%	1,480	39,285	40,765
August 2026	4.1%	1,655	39,050	40,705
July 2026	4.5%	1,808	38,529	40,337
June 2026	4.6%	1,884	38,633	40,517
May 2026	4.4%	1,800	39,282	41,082
April 2026	3.6%	1,482	39,430	40,912
March 2026	3.2%	1,298	39,582	40,880
February 2026	4.1%	1,703	39,451	41,154
January 2026	4.3%	1,724	38,394	40,118
December 2025	3.7%	1,476	38,759	40,235
November 2025	3.8%	1,548	39,209	40,757
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	3.3%	1,371	40,387	41,758
August 2025	3.4%	1,429	40,217	41,646
July 2025	3.5%	1,424	39,644	41,068
June 2025	3.6%	1,466	39,599	41,065
May 2025	3.1%	1,254	39,769	41,023
April 2025	2.4%	981	40,756	41,737
March 2025	2.7%	1,114	40,239	41,353
February 2025	3.3%	1,340	39,793	41,133
January 2025	3.2%	1,307	39,348	40,655
December 2024	2.8%	1,145	39,670	40,815
November 2024	2.8%	1,145	39,992	41,137
October 2024	2.7%	1,096	40,064	41,160

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	3.3%	1,337	39,793	41,130
2024	3.1%	1,262	39,703	40,965
2023	3.0%	1,189	38,842	40,031
2022	2.8%	1,092	37,499	38,591
2021	3.4%	1,288	36,146	37,434
2020	5.5%	2,012	34,879	36,891
2019	2.8%	1,037	36,262	37,299
2018	2.9%	1,089	36,708	37,797
2017	3.4%	1,309	36,672	37,981
2016	3.6%	1,387	36,628	38,015

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, : BLS publishes county figures only that way, so they rise and fall with the seasons; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. Oklahoma's figure above is on the same basis; seasonally adjusted, as in BLS's monthly state release, it was 4.2% in September 2026. The latest month is preliminary and is revised the next month, and BLS revises earlier years each spring. People are counted where they live. October 2025 wasn't collected during the 2025 federal government shutdown, so 2025's yearly average covers 11 months.

Crime reported in Payne County

167.9 per 100,0002025. Oklahoma: 407.7.

1,254.0 per 100,0002025. Oklahoma: 1,813.5.

3murders2025, 143 violent crimes in all.

Earlier years

Year	Violent	Rate	Property	Rate
2025	143	167.9	1,068	1,254.0
2024	163	192.7	1,212	1,432.8
2023	165	196.6	1,287	1,533.5
2022	211	254.2	1,480	1,783.2
2021	232	281.6	1,538	1,867.1
2020	239	288.5	1,899	2,292.6
2019	204	245.9	1,726	2,080.7
2018	244	296.0	1,665	2,019.7
2017	229	279.8	1,830	2,235.8
2016	234	286.5	2,338	2,862.2

By police agency (5)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Stillwater Police Department	2025	100	797	50,585
Payne County Sheriff's Office	2025	28	140	21,198
Cushing Police Department	2024	23	203	8,416
Perkins Police Department	2024	5	29	3,288
Yale Police Department	2024	7	20	1,072

Crimes to the county's city and county police agencies (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A), per 100,000 people they serve. Years with incomplete reporting are left out. Crime in Oklahoma · the U.S.

Police staffing

1.98 per 1,000 residents2025, 5 agencies serving 84,649 people.

168sworn officers2025, full-time, as of October 31.

89civilian staff2025, full-time.

Agencies counted (5), 2025

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Stillwater Police Department	84	44	50,585
Payne County Sheriff's Office	55	34	21,198
Cushing Police Department	17	8	8,476
Perkins Police Department	8	0	3,311
Yale Police Department	4	3	1,079

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2025	168	1.98	89	5
2024	185	2.20	74	5
2023	157	1.88	100	5
2022	153	1.86	86	5
2021	151	1.85	96	5
2020	138	1.68	105	5
2019	147	1.79	111	5
2018	141	1.72	103	5
2017	134	1.65	113	5
2016	135	1.67	104	5

Full-time employees of the county's city police departments and sheriff's office, as each reported them to the FBI (Uniform Crime Reporting, Law Enforcement Employees), per 1,000 people in the areas those agencies serve (the FBI's population figures). A year is shown only when every one of these agencies sent a count; a count under half or over double the agency's own counts in nearby years is treated as not sent. Towns policed under contract by another agency are counted through that agency. State police, campus and other agencies aren't included. Sheriffs' offices often also run the county jail and courthouse security, so their staff counts include those jobs.

Quick answers

Who is the Payne County County Assessor?: Jason Gomez (Republican) is the County Assessor of Payne County, Oklahoma.
Who is the Payne County County Clerk?: Glenna Craig (Republican) is the County Clerk of Payne County, Oklahoma.
Who is the Payne County Court Clerk?: Lori Allen (Republican) is the Court Clerk of Payne County, Oklahoma.
Who is the Payne County Sheriff?: Joe Harper (Republican) is the Sheriff of Payne County, Oklahoma.
Who is the Payne County County Treasurer?: Lee R. Denney (Republican) is the County Treasurer of Payne County, Oklahoma.
Who are the Payne County commissioners?: Zachary Cavett (District 1); Seth Condley (District 2); Rhonda Markum (District 3).
What is the population of Payne County?: About 82,972 people, with a median age of 27.7; the median household income is $49,809 and 22.6% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Payne County?: 3.6% in September 2026 (preliminary): 1,480 people unemployed in a labor force of 40,765, against 3.3% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Payne County?: 25 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 6 municipal, 8 school district and 10 special district governments.

Officeholders as of March 26, 2025, from the Oklahoma State Election Board's Roster of State and County Officers; each name links to its source. Officials change between elections (appointments, resignations), and the body's own website is the authority. Party is shown only for offices elected on a partisan ballot.

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