Benefit checks make up 36 cents of every dollar of income in Baca County, Colorado
In Baca County, 35.6% of all the income people there received came from benefit checks. That is higher than in 83% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives Baca County's score
In Baca County, income and the safety net weighs most: the score for income and the safety net is 73.0. The typical household earns $51,533 a year (2024), less than in 89% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 64.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Baca County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Baca County does better than most counties on two measures: unemployment rate, average over the latest year (2.9%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026) and people with unpaid debt sent to a collector (16.8%, August 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 73.0 of 100
Income and safety net
Biggest factorPoverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.2% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line27.9% · 202488th percentile
- People with a disability17.2% · 2020 to 202460th percentile
- People without health insurance7.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$51,533 · 202489th percentile
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- 64.1 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent18.6% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.6% · fiscal year 202775th percentile
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- 55.7 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.6% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behindnot published for this county; scored at the state median · August 202521st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score42.1% · second quarter of 202656th percentile
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- 34.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector16.8% · August 202525th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 peoplenot published for this county; scored at the state median · 202542nd percentile
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- 29.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year2.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202610th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.6% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Baca County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Baca County, 25.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Baca County
Colorado
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Baca County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 35.6% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Baca County, Colorado, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 35.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Baca County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.6% in 2021 to 19.4% in 2022.
The share of households in Baca County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2012, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 6.7% in 2012. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Baca County, Colorado.
How Baca County has changed
Baca County's population fell 42% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 1999 to 2004, reaching 4,064. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Baca County, Colorado.
The number of jobs located in Baca County rose most sharply from its first year (1,016 in 1990) to 1,157 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Baca County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 1,266 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Baca County, Colorado.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 1.9% | 2025 3.2% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.5% | 2024 18.2% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $19,605 | 2024 $51,533 |
The table uses 3.2% for 2025; the score uses 2.9% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Baca County's history
1889
Created April 16, 1889, from eastern portions of Las Animas County. Wikipedia
1930
The county's largest recorded population was the 1930 Census count of 10,570. The 2020 Census counted 3,506, 33% of the peak. Census Bureau
1977
F4 tornado struck Baca County on May 18, 1977, causing $2.5 million in damage. Wikipedia
1977
A tornado in May 1977 did $2.5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A thunderstorm in July 2014 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A thunderstorm in June 2017 did $2 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1965
11 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Baca County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Baca County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Baca County, in Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Baca County ranks 4th of the eight; Union County is highest, at 41.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Animas County, CO | 90 | 19.8% | 41.3% |
| Bent County, CO | 82 | 28.9% | 38.7% |
| Prowers County, CO | 62 | 19.0% | 31.0% |
| Union County, NM | 60 | 18.3% | 41.9% |
| Baca County, CO | 52 | 18.2% | 35.6% |
| Cimarron County, OK | 40 | 17.2% | 20.3% |
| Morton County, KS | 25 | 12.2% | 20.8% |
| Stanton County, KS | 21 | 11.1% | 14.5% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Baca County the poorest county in Colorado?
No, Baca County's poverty rate was 18.2% in 2024, 9th highest of 64 in Colorado (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Crowley County, at 39.0%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Baca County ranks 19th of 64 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Baca County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Colorado Legal Services
Legal aid
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Colorado Bar Association — Find a Lawyer directory
Find a lawyer
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Baca County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.