About two in five people with a credit file in Hendry County, Florida, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hendry County, 37.8% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 90% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 92% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hendry County's score
In Hendry County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 85.3. People with a credit card behind: 10.7%, August 2025, higher than in 96% of U.S. counties. Collections and bankruptcy comes next, at 79.8.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hendry 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.
Hendry County does better than most counties on one measure: people with a disability (11.7%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 85.3 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind10.7% · August 202596th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.1% · August 202575th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score51.8% · second quarter of 202683rd percentile
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- 79.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.8% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people175.4 · 202568th percentile
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- 78.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202686th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working24.5% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
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- 72.8 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 rent21.3% · 2020 to 202468th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.8% · fiscal year 202776th percentile
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- 70.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.3% · 202481st percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.1% · 202482nd percentile
- People with a disability11.7% · 2020 to 202412th percentile
- People without health insurance21.7% · 2020 to 202497th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$57,691 · 202476th 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 Hendry 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 Hendry County, 13.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hendry County
Florida
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hendry County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about seven times its 1969 level, reaching 28.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Hendry County, Florida, benefit checks' share of income grew to about seven times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 28.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hendry County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.4% in 2011 to 23.0% in 2012.
The share of households in Hendry County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 14.9% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hendry County, Florida.
How Hendry County has changed
Hendry County's population grew to about four times its 1969 size, reaching 46,130, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 46,130. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hendry County, Florida.
The number of jobs located in Hendry County rose most sharply from its first year (9,991 in 1990) to 13,781 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Hendry County was at its highest on the chart in 1995 and is down 8% since
High on the chart: 13,781 in 1995. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hendry County, Florida.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 13.4% | 2025 4.5% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 19.4% | 2024 18.3% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $22,470 | 2024 $57,691 |
The table uses 4.5% for 2025; the score uses 5.3% 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 Hendry County's history
1881
Atlantic and Gulf Coast and Okeechobee Land Company began draining Everglades. Wikipedia
1923
May 11, 1923, from portions of Lee County. Wikipedia
1972
A tornado in June 1972 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1982
A tornado in June 1982 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2007
Lightning in September 2007 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
Lightning in June 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 39,619, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1965
35 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hendry County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hendry County beside its neighbors
Hendry County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hendry County ranks 2nd of the six; Glades County is highest, at 31.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hendry County, FL | 92 | 18.3% | 28.9% |
| Glades County, FL | 86 | 17.2% | 31.0% |
| Broward County, FL | 72 | 11.7% | 16.3% |
| Lee County, FL | 71 | 11.4% | 21.3% |
| Palm Beach County, FL | 62 | 11.7% | 11.2% |
| Collier County, FL | 47 | 10.4% | 10.5% |
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 Hendry County the poorest county in Florida?
No, Hendry County's poverty rate was 18.3% in 2024, 17th highest of 67 in Florida (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Hamilton County, at 25.3%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Hendry County ranks 6th of 67 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hendry 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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Florida Rural Legal Services (FRLS)
Legal aid
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Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida
Legal aid
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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.
Download the CSV for Hendry County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
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 Hendry County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.