The effect of socioeconomic factors on receipt of definitive treatment and survival outcomes in non-metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. Eligible patients (n = 37 995) were identified from the United States Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database between 2007 and 2012. Socioeconomic factors (i.e., median household income, education level, unemployment rate, insurance status, marital status and residence) were included in univariate/multivariate Cox regression analysis; validated factors were used to generate nomograms for cause-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS), and a prognostic score model for risk stratification. Low- and high-risk groups were compared for all cancer subsites. Impact of race/ethnicity on survival was investigated in each risk group. Marital status, median household income and insurance status were included in the nomograms for CSS and OS, which had higher c-indexes than the 6th edition TNM staging system (all P < 0.001). Based on three disadvantageous socioeconomic factors (i.e., unmarried status, uninsured status, median household income <US $65 394), the prognostic score model generated four risk subgroups with scores of 0, 1, 2 or 3, which had significantly separated CSS/OS curves (all P < 0.001). Low-risk patients (score 0-1) were more likely to receive definitive treatment and obtain better CSS/OS than high-risk patients (score 2-3). Chinese and non-Hispanic black patients with high-risk socioeconomic status had best and poorest CSS/OS, respectively. Therefore, marital status, median household income and insurance status have significance for predicting survival outcomes. Low-risk socioeconomic status and Chinese race/ethnicity confer protective effects in HNSCC.